Arson attack on Japanese animation studio kills at least 33

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A man shouted "die" as he doused an animation studio with fuel and set it ablaze in Japan on Thursday, public broadcaster NHK said, killing at least 33 people in the nation's worst mass murder in nearly two decades.

'Appalling' arson attack on Japanese animation studio kills at least 33

An aerial view shows smoke and flame rise from the three-story Kyoto Animation building which was torched in Kyoto, western Japan, in this photo taken by Kyodo July 18, 2019. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. JAPAN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN JAPAN.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the attack in the city of Kyoto - the latest grisly killing in a nation widely known for its low crime rates - “too appalling for words” and offered condolences.

Police detained a 41-year-old man who shouted “die” as he poured what appeared to be petrol around the three-storey Kyoto Animation building shortly after 10 a.m. (0100 GMT), public broadcaster NHK reported.

Thirty-three people were confirmed dead, an official for the Kyoto City Fire Department said.

Fire engulfed the building and white and black smoke billowed from its charred windows. It was Japan’s worst mass killing since a suspected arson attack on a Tokyo building in 2001.

“Policemen were stopping traffic and it was really hazy with smoke,” he said. “Even after I got back to my restaurant I could smell the smoke.”

The prime minister said the cause was arson. “Today, many people were killed and wounded in an arson murder case in Kyoto,” Abe said in a post on Twitter. “It is too appalling for words.”

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The dead were found on all three floors of the building, including in the studio, and on a staircase leading up to the roof, the fire department said. It was not clear if the roughly 10 people found dead on the staircase had been trying to escape.

Another 36 people were taken to hospital by midday, the fire department said, adding that 10 of them were seriously injured.

By Thursday the fire department had completed its search of the studio, it said.

The suspected arsonist was injured and was being treated in hospital, so police could not question him, NHK said.

The studio produces popular series such as the “Sound! Euphonium”. Its “Free! Road to the World - The Dream” movie is due for release this month.

“I am heartbroken,” Hideaki Hatta, the studio’s chief executive told reporters. “It in unbearable that the people who helped carry Japan’s animation industry were hurt and lost their lives in this way.”

There was an outpouring of support for the studio on Japanese-language social media, with some users posting pictures of animation. Many posted with the hashtag “#PrayForKyoani” - using an abbreviation for Kyoto Animation.

The studio has an outsized impact on Japan’s animation industry that outstrips the list of works it has produced, said Tokyo-based film commentator Yuichi Maeda. “It has a huge presence in animation here. To have this many people die at once will be a huge blow to the Japanese animation industry,” he said.

Violent crime is relatively rare in Japan but occasional high-profile incidents have shocked the country.

Slideshow (5 Images)
'Appalling' arson attack on Japanese animation studio kills at...

At least 23 people feared dead in Japan in suspected arson: fire department

At least 23 people were feared dead in a suspected arson incident at an animation studio in the Japanese city of Kyoto on Thursday, an official for the Kyoto City Fire Department said.

Japan PM Abe: Kyoto fire incident 'too appalling for words'

A fire caused by suspected arson in the Japanese city of Kyoto on Thursday was "too appalling for" words, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Twitter, offering condolences to the victims.

 

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Suspected arsonist believed his novel was stolen by Japanese studio: media

KYOTO, Japan - A man suspected of torching an animation studio and killing 33 people in Japan’s worst mass killing in two decades,
carried out the attack because he believed his novel had been plagiarized, media said on Friday.

The man wheeled a trolley carrying at least one bucket of petrol to the entrance of the Kyoto Animation building in Kyoto city before dousing the area, shouting “die” and setting it ablaze on Thursday, broadcaster Nippon TV said, citing police.

Police identified the suspected arsonist as Shinji Aoba, who was taken into custody soon after the attack, NHK said, adding that he had not been arrested.

“I did it,” the 41-year-old told police when he was detained, Kyodo news said, adding that he had started the fire because he believed the studio had stolen his novel.

Police declined to comment. Broadcaster Nippon TV said the suspect was under anaesthesia because of burns he suffered and police were unable to question him.

He “seemed to be discontented, he seemed to get angry, shouting something about how he had been plagiarized”, a woman who saw the man being detained told reporters.

The explosive fire killed 33 people and 10 more were in critical condition, authorities said. It marks the worst mass killing since a suspected arson attack in Tokyo killed 44 people in 2001.

Aoba, a resident of the Tokyo suburb of Saitama, some 480 km (300 miles) east of the ancient capital of Kyoto, was believed to have bought two 20-liter gasoline cans at a hardware store and prepared the petrol in a park near the studio, Nippon TV said. He travelled to the area by train, the broadcaster said.

NHK showed footage of him lying on his back as he spoke to a police officer at the time of his detention, shoeless and with apparent burns on his right leg below the knee.

He had no connection with Kyoto Animation and his driver’s licence gave an address in the north Tokyo suburb of Saitama, NHK said.

None of the victims’ identities had been disclosed as of Friday. There were 74 people inside the building when the fire started, Kyodo said.

“I imagine many of the people who died were in their twenties,” said 71-year-old Kozo Tsujii, fighting back tears after laying flowers near the studio in the rain on Friday morning. He said he drives by the studio on his daily commute. I’m just very, very sad that these people who are so much younger than me passed away so prematurely,” he said.

BODIES PILED UP
The building did not have any sprinklers or indoor fire hydrants, though it was not legally required to by the fire code, a Kyoto Fire Department official said.

Nineteen of the 33 who died were found on a staircase leading up to the roof from the third floor, bodies piled on top of each other, Kyodo said, citing authorities.

Firefighters arriving soon after the fire began found the door to the roof was shut but could be opened from the outside, Kyodo said.
The victims may have rushed up the stairs to escape the blaze and found themselves unable to open the door, it added. The fire wasn’t put out until early on Friday.

Police investigators searched the smouldering shell of the building for evidence in an investigation that Kyodo said covered suspected arson, murder and attempted murder.

Two petrol cans, a rucksack and a trolley were found near the site, and television images showed what appeared to be five long knives laid out by police as possible evidence outside the three-storey building.

Kyoto Animation, in a quiet suburb about 20 minutes by train from the centre of Kyoto, produces popular “anime” series such as the “Sound! Euphonium”.

Its “Free! Road to the World - The Dream” movie is due for release this month.

“I love fighting games, all things about Japan,” said Blake Henderson, a 26-year-old Alabama native and fan of the anime studio who had come to the scene of the blaze pay his respects. “I love Japan so much and this one incident won’t change my entire perspective on Japan, but it still hurts,” he said.

Jun Shin, a 30-year-old Chinese man living in nearby Osaka, visited the site on Thursday night to place flowers near the burnt-out office and say a prayer.

“I am an anime fan,” Jun, an information technology worker, stated. “I have watched animation since I was a student, and this was a terrible event, I just want to come and mourn. It left me speechless.”

Slideshow (14 Images)
Suspected arsonist is ex-convict who believed Japanese studio stole...

 

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Animation fans lay flowers, pay respects at Japan studio ravaged by arson

Animation fans gathered at the site of Japan's worst mass killing in 18 years on Friday, laying flowers and offering prayers for the 33 people killed in an arson attack on an animation studio.

Japan arson suspect a convicted robber treated for mental illness: NHK
The man suspected of torching an animation studio and killing 33 people in Japan's worst mass killing in two decades had been convicted for robbery and treated for mental illness, public broadcaster NHK said.

The suspect, whom police named as Shinji Aoba, 41, was sentenced to 3-1/2 years for robbing a convenience store in 2012, NHK said. Police officials in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, declined to comment when reached after hours.

After his release, Aoba spent some time in facilities for former convicts. He had also received treatment for mental illness from caretakers who visited his home, NHK said.

Spiral stairs, no sprinklers may have contributed to deadly Japan fire

The fire that tore through a building in Japan killing 33 people may have spread so fast not only because it was fueled by petrol but because it was funneled up a spiral staircase and there were no sprinklers to douse it, experts said on Friday.

 

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Suspected Japan arsonist a reclusive, quarrelsome gamer, neighbor says

The man suspected of killing 34 people in an arson attack in Japan lived alone, hundreds of kilometers from the torched Kyoto Animation studio, where he played video games non-stop and had "terrified" his neighbor just days earlier.

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Many victims of an arson attack on a Japanese animation studio were young with bright futures, some joining only in April, the shaken company president said on Saturday, as the death toll climbed to 34.

Suspected Japanese arsonist is ex-convict who believed studio stole his novel: media

The attack on Thursday in the ancient capital of Kyoto, targeting the well-known animation studio, Kyoto Animation, killed 33 people and 10 were in critical condition, authorities said. Most of the dead were killed by carbon dioxide inhalation, NHK said.

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World leaders, Apple CEO offer tributes to Japanese studio after attack

Tributes to the Japanese animation studio ravaged in a suspected arson attack lit up social media on Friday, with world leaders and Apple Inc's <AAPL.O> chief executive offering condolences to the families of the 33 people who were killed.

Animation fans lay flowers, pay respects at Japan studio ravaged by arson

Animation fans gathered at the site of Japan's worst mass killing in 18 years on Friday, laying flowers and offering prayers for the 33 people killed in an arson attack on an animation studio.

 

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Donations to Kyoto Animation topped 3.3 billion yen ($30 million) to support survivors and bereaved families after an arson attack on the film studio in July killed over 30 people.

Donations top $30 million for Kyoto Animation arson victims in Japan

Kyoto Animation, in a quiet suburb about 20 minutes by train from the center of Kyoto, produces popular “anime” series such as the “Sound! Euphonium”. It is also known for “Violet Evergarden”, which has been shown on Netflix.

Kyoto Animation said earlier this week it would coordinate with a prefectural allocation committee to disperse the funds.

The studio is working on animated films to be released in the spring, aiming to deliver anime “that fosters dreams, hope and excitement to people all over the world.”

 

[Aya]

FYI, according to Oricon News, the suspect is still in the hospital, recovered from the severe burn and be able to have small conversations. The cost of treating the suspect was reported to be more than 10 million yen. (= 100K USD)
(That’s a lot money. No way he can pay back anytime soon.)

In the interview, the suspect said with a lost hope, “I will get death penalty anyway…“
But he also said "I've never received so much kindness from people.", meaning that the medical staff who treated him gave a positive impact on him.

It says that the police are waiting to arrest him after the full recovery.