Man pleads guilty in arson that killed 36 at Japanese animation studio in 2019
TOKYO — The suspect in a 2019 arson attack at an animation studio in Japan pleaded guilty Tuesday on the first day of his trial to the murder of 36 people.
The trial for the country’s deadliest crime in decades had been long delayed to give the defendant time to recover from the serious burns he sustained in the attack.
Shinji Aoba, 45, was charged with multiple counts of murder, attempted murder and arson after he stormed into Kyoto Animation’s No. 1 studio on July 18, 2019, and set it on fire. The blaze killed 36 people and left more than 30 others badly burned or otherwise injured.
Aoba appeared before the Kyoto District Court in a wheelchair and wearing a surgical mask, Japanese media reported. Prosecutors said he carried out the crime in revenge, believing that Kyoto Animation had stolen one of his novels, which he had submitted to a company contest, reports said.
In his statement, Aoba said that the attack was all he could think about at the time but that he never thought so many people would die. He now thinks he went too far, he said, according to the reports.
Aoba nearly died in the attack, suffering severe burns over 90% of his body, including his face, torso and limbs. He was unconscious for weeks and treated for 10 months at a hospital specializing in burns, where he underwent several skin transplant operations that saved him, police said.
He was last publicly seen on a stretcher at the time of his arrest in May 2020, after the 10-month hospitalization.
Prosecutors waited six more months for the results of a psychiatric evaluation before pressing formal charges. They said he was mentally fit to stand trial, whereas Aoba’s defense lawyers argued that he was mentally unfit and should not be held criminally responsible.
About 70 people were working inside the studio in south Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, at the time of the attack. One of the survivors, an animator, has said he saw a black mushroom cloud rising from downstairs, followed by scorching heat. He jumped from a window of the three-story building, gasping for air.
Experts say they believe many of the victims died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The company, founded in 1981 and better known as KyoAni, made a mega-hit anime series about high school girls and trained aspirants in the craft.
A Japanese court has sentenced a man to death for killing and dismembering nine people, most of whom had posted suicidal thoughts on social media.
The attack shocked Japan and drew an outpouring of grief from anime fans worldwide.
On Tuesday, 500 people lined up outside the court to vie for 35 public seats available for the first hearing. There will be 30 more trial sessions this year before
a verdict, expected in January.
Japanese media have described Aoba as being thought of as a troublemaker who repeatedly changed contract jobs and apartments. Neighbors said he often quarreled with other residents in various apartment buildings where he lived near Tokyo. He served prison time for theft from a convenience store in 2012.
The fire was Japan’s deadliest since 2001, when a blaze in Tokyo’s congested Kabukicho entertainment district killed 44 people. It was the country’s worst-known case of arson in modern times.
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