• Shinji Aoba, a 45-year-old man, was sentenced to death.
• The attack resulted in the death of 36 people and left dozens injured, mostly young artists.
• The attack sparked national mourning and garnered attention from the anime world.

The Japanese court sentenced Shinji Aoba, a 45-year-old man, to death for carrying out an arson attack at a Kyoto animation studio. The devastating incident, one of Japan’s deadliest in recent decades, resulted in the death of 36 people and left dozens more injured, predominantly young artists.

Although Aoba pleaded guilty to the attack, his lawyers attempted to secure a lighter sentence by arguing “mental incompetence.” However, the judges rejected this defense, asserting that Aoba knew what he was doing. The tragedy deeply shocked the anime world.

“I have determined that the defendant was not mentally insane or weak at the time of the crime,” Chief Judge Masuda said on Thursday at Kyoto District Court.

“The death of 36 people is extremely serious and tragic. The fear and pain of the deceased victims was indescribable,” Japanese broadcaster NHK reported him saying.

Trapped on the upper floors of the studio as the fire spread, many young artists, who constituted the animation staff, lost their lives in one of the deadliest cases in recent decades. The attack, which sparked national mourning in Japan, garnered close attention from the country’s public and media.

Japan’s Artist:

Prosecutors demanded the death penalty for Aoba, arguing that his motivation for the studio attack stemmed from a belief that Kyoto Animation had stolen his work. Aoba claimed that Kyoto Animation, also known as KyoAni, plagiarized a novel he had submitted to their contest.

During a workday, he forcibly entered the studio, splashing petrol on the ground floor and igniting it while repeatedly shouting “Drop dead.” When he pleaded guilty in September 2023, he expressed that he did not anticipate so many people would lose their lives.

“I felt I had no other option but to do what I did,” he said at the time.

“I feel tremendously sorry and the feeling includes a sense of guilt.”

The fire left Aoba with burns on over 90% of his body, and authorities arrested him only after he had recovered from the operations.

“The delusion that KyoAni Studio had plagiarised his work influenced his motivation,” prosecutors had told the court.

On Thursday, the judge, after reading out a lengthy reasoning with victim testimonies, announced the verdict, stating that Aoba was not controlled by such delusions and had full capacity and understanding of his actions.

The event resulted in the death of more than half of the animation studio’s 70-strong workforce, with another 32 individuals injured.

[embedpost slug=”japans-slim-moon-probe-lands-with-pinpoint-precision/”]