Culture news He is sentenced to death for killing 36 people in a fire that destroyed this animation studio near Netflix
On July 18, 2019, Japananimation fans learned of the destruction of one of the most famous Japanese animation studios. An arson fire devastates the premises and leaves 36 employees dead. It is the worst mass killing orchestrated in Japan in almost 20 years. After four years of investigation and trial, the verdict has just been reached and is final.
A historic animation studio
Kyoto Animation is one of the most renowned historical Japanese studios in the archipelago. Founded 38 years ago (July 12, 1985) and located in Kyoto prefecture, they are at the origin of several of the most cult anime including Full Metal Panic?, Clannad, K-ON!, Free! Iwatobi Swim Club, Sound! Euphonium and more recently Violet Evergarden (available on Netflix) and Tsurune. The Kyoto Animation teams also shook up the world of animation in 2016 with the animated drama A Silent Voice (also available on Netflix) which won all the votes. It is considered, and rightly so, as the 17th best anime of all time on MyAnimeList with a rating of 8.93/10. Unfortunately, Kyoto Animation was hit by a tragedy during the month of July 2019 which practically put the studios on hiatus for almost three long years.
A story of “plagiarism”
On July 18, 2019, an arson fire broke out around 10:30 a.m. in the Kyoto Animation premises. Studio 1 located in the Fushimi district of Kyoto quickly fell prey to flames which spread to all floors. Equipped with forty liters of gasoline, the arsonist pours the contents of his cans onto the ground floor and ignites everything, not without blocking the emergency exits first. Stuck inside the building and unable to escape, many employees died from burns and/or poisoning before firefighters were able to bring the fire under control.
The human and material toll is heavy. According to the JST (Fire and Disaster Management Agency) report, the building was completely destroyed, as were the equipment and computers. In their misfortune, the studios were still able to save original drawings digitized via a server that escaped the fire. However, this cannot obscure the horror of the situation. 36 people died on this tragic day in July 2019 and 34 others are injured to varying degrees.
Quickly apprehended, the suspect named Shinji Aoba admits to starting the fire once taken to the hospital. The man, aged 41 at the time of the facts, justifies his action and accuses Kyoto Animation of having ripped off or plagiarized him. He then declares “Pakuri yagatte” which can be translated as fraud or plagiarism. He would have shouted the same words before setting fire to the Japanese studios followed by “Shine” which means “Die”. Originally from Saitama, he was already known to the police. In 2012, he robbed a konbini (a local business) armed with a knife. At the time, he was sentenced to three and a half years in prison. On May 27, 2020, he was officially arrested and imprisoned by the courts for the Kyoto Animation fire.
An exemplary verdict
The trial begins in September 2023, more than 4 years after the events, and ends on January 25, 2024. Without much surprise for anyone familiar with the Japanese judicial system, the verdict is exemplary for the arsonist Shini Aoba. As a reminder, it is extremely rare for a case brought before a judge to be dismissed in Japan. Indeed, the conviction rate in the country is around 99.8% (figures from Human Rights Watch) and the approval by judges of requests for pre-trial detention is 94.7%.
Despite his defense being mainly based on mental disorders which cannot make him criminally responsible, Shinji Aoba who pleaded not guilty is sentenced to death. According to the judge in charge of the case, the now 45-year-old man was “neither insane nor mentally incapacitated” at the time of the facts (comments reported by NHK – the public company which manages the radio and television stations of the Japanese public service). Japan is, along with certain states in the United States, the only industrialized democracy to maintain capital punishment. The Japanese judge sums up the drama in these terms:
The horror and pain of the victims who died in Studio 1, which turned into hell in an instant, or who died afterwards, are indescribable.