Tomohiro Kato, who allegedly killed seven people in an indiscriminate rampage in Akihabara, Tokyo, on Sunday, is believed to have spent about 20 minutes choosing knives at a military goods shop.

Kato reportedly confessed to the Metropolitan Police Department that he had purchased knives in Fukui Prefecture.

According to a store in Fukui, which is run by a military goods sales company in Sakai in the prefecture, a man believed to be Kato visited the shop alone at about 12:40 p.m. Friday.

He bought knives after looking around the store for about 20 minutes, store officials said.

Though Kato posted a message on a mobile phone Web site saying he had bought five knives, the shop's sales records showed that the man spent a total of 24,900 yen buying six knives, including a dagger with a 12.5-centimeter blade--the same model as the weapon used in the Akihabara frenzy--and a single-edged survival knife.

The suspect also bought a telescopic baton, according to the store. After leaving the store, the man returned to buy a pair of leather gloves, the store said. The man was quoted by a store clerk as saying he had come all the way from Shizuoka Prefecture and was originally from Aomori while showing his driver's license.

The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network