KyoAni Arson Suspect will be Arrested Tomorrow, More Details Here

No one can forget the “Kyoto Animation Studio” arson incident, which occurred in July last year. Such a huge case of “suicidal terrorism” had rarely occurred in Japan over the past decade.

And now it seems that justice will finally be served to the studio and the victims.

The arson occurred in the Kyoto Animation Studio 1 building, and killed at least 36 people. 33 people were injured, and most of the studio’s computers and files were destroyed. Most of the victims were female, as the studio was famed for hiring female animators.

The suspect, Shinji Aoba, reportedly entered the studio, doused the surrounding area and several employees in gasoline and lit it with a lighter.

He suffered severe burns and tried to flee but was apprehended by the police. It was apparently an act of revenge as Aoba was caught accusing the studio of plagiarizing some of his works. These claims are not yet proven to be true.

Why is the suspect being arrested this late?

Shinji Aoba was undergoing treatment for third-degree burns and has finally recovered enough to withstand detention. Due to the lack of donors for skin grafting, he received artificial skin treatment.

The arrest warrant for the suspect was issued in October, but his injuries and the Coronavirus pandemic aided his wait. The virus outbreak had affected several detention facilities, and thus the arrest was further delayed.

Shinji Aoba was supposed to be arrested on 27th May and be held in Osaka Police Detention Centre.

Among the people who passed away in the attack, were some well-known names in the anime industry: Yasuhiro Takemoto, Yoshiji Kigami, Futoshi Nishiya, Shouko Ikeda, to name a few. The company received donations and accumulated ¥3.3 billion to compensate for the loss.

Due to this incident, several ongoing productions of the studio were stopped or delayed. Even the 11th Kyoto Animation Awards were canceled.

We hope the victims get justice and the person responsible for this act of shocking violence is punished appropriately.

Source: Yahoo!