Shinji Aoba, the 45-year-old arsonist behind the Kyoto Animation arson attack in 2019, received a death penalty sentence on Thursday, January 25. The Kyoto District Court found the accused guilty of setting the three-story building on fire, killing 36 people and injuring 34 (including himself), due to the grudge he had against the studio.
According to The Japan Times, over 400 people lined up to get a chance to witness the court’s ruling that only allowed 23 audiences. Some of them were relatives of the victims. The trial focused on whether Aoba was mentally fine to be held criminally liable, and Presiding Judge Keisuke Masuda claimed the suspect was neither mentally incompetent nor feeble-minded when the attack happened. Hence, he’s criminally responsible for the arson.
Aoba claimed that Kyoto Animation had stolen his ideas after it rejected his novels in the company’s annual contest. However, no evidence proves that the studio plagiarized his work. The ruling added that he set the studio on fire to stop “No. 2,” a made-up individual from his delusions, from following him.
“But the impact of the delusions on the crime is not large,” Masuda explained. “The liability of taking the lives of 36 people is extremely grave, so there is no reason for the death penalty to be avoided.”
The prosecutors said the death penalty was the only option they could give to Aoba, given the gravity of his crime. However, the defense team argued he should be acquitted or receive a much lighter sentence due to his mental health. Two psychiatrists who testified in the court admitted they were divided over Aoba’s mental state.
Anyhow, in December, Aoba apologized to the victims and their families and vowed to atone for his crimes by receiving the death penalty. He also said in September that he didn’t expect that many people would die from the attack.
What is the Kyoto Animation arson attack?
The Kyoto Animation attack happened at Kyoto Animation’s Studio 1 building in Japan on the morning of July 18, 2019. The fire killed 36 people, injured 34, and destroyed most of the materials and computers in the studio. The attack is considered one of the deadliest massacres in Japan since World War II and the deadliest building fire in the country since the Myojo building fire in 2001. It was also the first massacre to occur at an entertainment studio related to the animation industry.
Aoba entered the studio while carrying 40 liters of gasoline and poured it onto the area and the employees before setting them on fire. The suspect also set himself on fire while lighting the fuel but tried to flee. He was stopped by the police about 100 meters from the scene. He was then arrested in 2020, over 10 months after awaiting his recovery.
Almost five years after the deadly attack, the victims have finally received the justice they deserve. Rest in peace to the talented people who lost their lives back then, and an incident like this might not happen again.
