Two male officers of the Miyagi prefectural police department who tried to hold back the defendant received cuts, including to the belly and face, but their injuries were not life-threatening. No visitors were hurt.

The defendant, Seiji Yodogawa, 30, was arrested on the scene on charges of attempted murder.

In the trial, Yodogawa was accused of secretly photographing a woman's underwear on a platform of a train station in Sendai in January this year, according to the court.

As the judge read out the verdict to sentence him to a prison term of one year, Yodogawa started swinging the knives and yelling that the judicial system is rotten.

Three fruit knives and two cutter knives had been concealed under his clothing, according to the police and the court.

Yodogawa, who was on bail, was not checked with a metal detector when he entered the court. (Jiji Press)