- Kyoto Animation arson attack
- Arsonist sentenced to death
- Motive: alleged plagiarism
The arsonist sustained severe burns during the assault on Kyoto Animation, a production house renowned for its works that feature high school females (e.g., Lucky Star and K-On!). He was subsequently hospitalized for ten months before his apprehension in May 2020.
In 2019, a Japanese national was sentenced to death for setting an animation studio on fire, killing 36 people.
A court declared Shinji Aoba guilty of murder and additional offenses, rejecting the arguments of his attorneys that he was psychologically unfit to face criminal charges.
Executions in Japan are carried out via hanging.
The fire was the deadliest in the nation since 2001, when 44 people died in Tokyo’s Kabukicho entertainment district.
Aoba reportedly stormed Kyoto Animation in July 2019, pouring paraffin throughout the studio and yelling, “Die!”
Over seventy people were inside the three-story building when the alarm went off, and many escaped.
A significant number of the fatalities were young artists who were suspected of having been poisoned by carbon monoxide.
In addition, over thirty others sustained severe burns or injuries.
Attack planned for the train terminus
Judge Keisuke Masuda stated that the 45-year-old’s assault was motivated by vengeance because he believed the studio had plagiarised novels he had submitted for a company contest; Kyoto Animation refutes this allegation.
Aoba, who was unemployed and experiencing financial difficulties, reportedly devised an alternative assault strategy for a train station located north of Tokyo one month before his intended target, the anime studio.
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The assailant endured extensive burn injuries and was hospitalized for ten months before his apprehension in May 2020.
Due to the extensive burns on his body, his survival was initially improbable; however, medical professionals determined the injuries to be non-fatal and proceeded with skin graft surgery in Osaka.
“Indescribable suffering”
The judge stated that the assault “devastated the studio to hell and claimed the lives of 36 individuals, inflicting unbearable suffering upon them,” as reported by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
Following the occurrence, the late Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, characterized the fire as an image that defied description.
Established in 1981, Kyoto Animation, known as KyoAni, specializes in producing comic books and animation.
Lucky Star, K-On!, and Haruhi Suzumiya focus on high school girls and are aimed to Japanese audiences.
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