Legal proceedings
Attack on Japanese film studio: man sentenced to death
In the summer of 2019, a man set fire to a Japanese film studio. photo
© -/kyodo/dpa
A man set fire to an animation studio in Kyoto in the summer of 2019. Anime fans were stunned. Now he gets the death penalty.
Four and a half years after an arson attack on an animation studio in Japan in which 36 people died, a court has convicted the perpetrator sentenced to death. The Kyoto District Court found the 45-year-old defendant guilty of murder and other crimes, broadcaster NHK and Japanese newspapers reported. The presiding judge was quoted as saying that he was neither mentally ill nor of reduced mental capacity at the time of the crime in July 2019.
The arson attack caused horror and sadness among anime fans in Japan and around the world. 32 people were also injured in the fire.
The defendant confessed to setting fire to the animation studio in the old imperial city of Kyoto. At that time he entered the studio building and spilled a flammable liquid. He then set fire to the building while shouting: “Die!” He told investigators that the studio had stolen his idea for a work.
Death penalty for murder and arson
Because the man confessed, the main focus of the proceedings was, according to reports, the question of whether he was responsible. His lawyers had argued that he suffered from delusions. The court now followed the public prosecutor’s office, according to which the perpetrator was criminally responsible. She had sought the death penalty on murder, arson and other charges.
The affected company, Kyoto Animation, produced some popular television animated series, especially in the 2000s, such as “K-On!”, “Free!” and “Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu”, which are particularly aimed at the younger generation.