HOKKAIDO - Japanese prosecutors argued on Tuesday (Nov 15) that a 20-year-old man murdered a woman last August in order to recreate the virtual killings he had carried out in video games.

The man pleaded guilty in 2015 to the murder of beautician Erika Konno, 31, in Hokkaido, The Japan Times reported.

The man cannot be named because he was underage at the time of the killing.

He lived in the same building as the victim, and allegedly broke into her house on the morning of Aug 3, 2015. He is said to have stabbed her to death and partially burnt her body by setting serviettes on fire.

"He committed the crime after deciding that he wanted to kill someone with a knife the way he would in video games to see how he would change as a person," The Japan Times quoted the prosecutors as saying.

Prosecutors said that the man is responsible for his actions despite a slight mental disability. He allegedly became obsessed with death and corpses while he was in high school.

A ruling is expected on Nov 29.