Current:Home > MyMan sentenced to death for arson attack at Japanese anime studio that killed 36 -Wealth Empowerment Academy
Man sentenced to death for arson attack at Japanese anime studio that killed 36
View
Date:2025-04-17 02:22:37
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court sentenced a man to death after finding him guilty of murder and other crimes Thursday for carrying out a shocking arson attack on an anime studio in Kyoto, Japan, that killed 36 people.
The Kyoto District Court said it found the defendant, Shinji Aoba, mentally capable to face punishment for the crimes and announced his capital punishment after a recess in a two-part session on Thursday.
Aoba stormed into Kyoto Animation’s No. 1 studio on July 18, 2019, and set it on fire. Many of the victims were believed to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning. More than 30 other people were badly burned or injured.
Judge Keisuke Masuda said Aoba had wanted to be a novelist but was unsuccessful and so he sought revenge, thinking that Kyoto Animation had stolen novels he submitted as part of a company contest, according to NHK national television.
NHK also reported that Aoba, who was out of work and struggling financially after repeatedly changing jobs, had plotted a separate attack on a train station north of Tokyo a month before the arson attack on the animation studio.
Aoba plotted the attacks after studying past criminal cases involving arson, the court said in the ruling, noting the process showed that Aoba had premeditated the crime and was mentally capable.
“The attack that instantly turned the studio into hell and took the precious lives of 36 people, caused them indescribable pain,” the judge said, according to NHK.
Aoba, 45, was severely burned and was hospitalized for 10 months before his arrest in May 2020. He appeared in court in a wheelchair.
Aoba’s defense lawyers argued he was mentally unfit to be held criminally responsible.
About 70 people were working inside the studio in southern Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, at the time of the attack. One of the survivors said he saw a black cloud rising from downstairs, then scorching heat came and he jumped from a window of the three-story building gasping for air.
The company, founded in 1981 and better known as KyoAni, made a mega-hit anime series about high school girls, and the studio trained aspirants to the craft.
Japanese media have described Aoba as being thought of as a troublemaker who repeatedly changed contract jobs and apartments and quarreled with neighbors.
The fire was Japan’s deadliest since 2001, when a blaze in Tokyo’s congested Kabukicho entertainment district killed 44 people, and it was the country’s worst-known case of arson in modern times.
veryGood! (8)
Related
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- Book excerpt: The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese
- Slumping sluggers, ailing pitchers combining for some April anxiety in fantasy baseball
- NFL mock drafts put many QBs in first round of 2024 draft. Guess how often that's worked?
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- Baby saved from dying mother's womb after Israeli airstrike on Gaza city of Rafah named in her honor
- It-Girls Everywhere Are Rocking Crochet Fashion Right Now — And We're Hooked on the Trend
- Montana minor league baseball team in dispute with National Park Service over arrowhead logo
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- It-Girls Everywhere Are Rocking Crochet Fashion Right Now — And We're Hooked on the Trend
Ranking
- Southern California rocked by series of earthquakes: Is a bigger one brewing?
- 4,000 Cybertrucks sold: Recall offers glimpse at Tesla's rank in rocky electric truck market
- David Beckham Files Lawsuit Against Mark Wahlberg-Backed Fitness Company
- How do I update my resume to help land that job? Ask HR
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Transgender Tennessee woman sues over state’s refusal to change the sex designation on her license
- The Best Personalized & Unique Gifts For Teachers That Will Score an A+
- How Eminem Is Celebrating 16 Years of Sobriety
Recommendation
51-year-old Andy Macdonald puts on Tony Hawk-approved Olympic skateboard showing
The Biden Administration Makes Two Big Moves To Conserve Public Lands, Sparking Backlash From Industry
When her mother went missing, an Illinois woman ventured into the dark corners of America's romance scam epidemic
Alabama lawmakers advance bill to ensure Biden is on the state’s ballot
Elon Musk’s Daughter Vivian Calls Him “Absolutely Pathetic” and a “Serial Adulterer”
Venice Biennale titled ‘Foreigners Everywhere’ platforms LGBTQ+, outsider and Indigenous artists
Lionel Messi, Inter Miami expected to draw record-setting crowd in New England on Saturday
Zendaya Continues to Ace Her Style Game With Head-Turning Outfit Change