A Japanese court on Thursday found the man responsible for a shocking arson attack that killed 36 people at a Kyoto anime studio guilty of murder and other charges and sentenced him to death.
The Kyoto District Court announced that it had found Shinji Aoba mentally competent to be punished for his crimes and sentenced him to death after adjourning a two-part trial on Thursday.
On July 18, 2019, Aoba broke into Kyoto Animation's Studio 1 and set it on fire. Many of the victims are believed to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. More than 30 other people suffered severe burns and injuries.
According to NHK state television, judge Keisuke Masuda said that Aoba had wanted to become a novelist but had been unsuccessful, so he thought Kyoto Animation had stolen the novel he had submitted as part of a corporate contest and sought revenge.
NHK also reported that Aoba had been planning another attack on a train station in northern Tokyo one month before the arson attack on the anime studio, while he was struggling financially after losing his job and changing jobs. Ta.
The court said in its ruling that Aoba planned the attack after studying past criminal cases, including arson, and that the process showed that Aoba had planned the crime and was mentally competent. He pointed out that it shows.
“The attack, which instantly turned the studio into hell and claimed the precious lives of 36 people, caused them indescribable pain,” the judge said, according to NHK.
Aoba, 45, suffered severe burns and was hospitalized for 10 months before being arrested in May 2020.
He appeared in court in a wheelchair.
Aoba's defense team argued that he was mentally unfit to face criminal charges.
At the time of the attack, about 70 people were working inside the studio in southern Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital.
One survivor said he saw black clouds rising from downstairs and jumped out of the window of the three-story building for air in the scorching heat.
Founded in 1981 and known as KyoAni, the company created a blockbuster anime series about high school girls, and the studio trained aspiring artists in its craft.
Japanese media have reported that Aoba is seen as a troublemaker who repeatedly changes contracts and apartments and fights with neighbors.
The fire was the deadliest in Japan since 2001, when a fire broke out in Tokyo's Kabukicho district, killing 44 people, and is known as Japan's worst arson incident in modern times. .
