Japanese man stabs son to death over test

Kengo Satake, 48, was arrested in Nagoya on Tuesday after his son, Ryota, was taken to the hospital, where he later died from blood loss.

The father said he'd stabbed the boy "by mistake" during an argument in their apartment over an exam the boy needed to pass to be admitted to an elite private middle school. The staff at the hospital called the authorities following the father's revelation.

"The father stabbed his son in the chest with a kitchen knife," a police spokesperson confirmed. Police were also seen searching the apartment.

Satake apparently was determined to have his son be admitted into the same private school in Aichi prefecture from which he'd graduated.

Admission into Japan's private schools is extremely competitive, a fact that has led parents to push their kids harder and harder to study for the entrance exams.

blc/jil (AFP, dpa)