Japan anime studio arsonist drops death penalty appeal, says lawyer
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More than 30 others were injured in the incident, with firefighters calling the incident “unprecedented”.
PHOTO: AFP
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TOKYO – A Japanese man sentenced to death for an arson attack that killed 36 people at an anime studio has dropped his appeal and accepted the court’s penalty, a lawyer and local media said on Jan 28.
Shinji Aoba, 46, was sentenced to death in January 2024 over the 2019 blaze at the studios of Kyoto Animation – Japan’s deadliest crime in decades.
But his defence team appealed the ruling
Mr Daisuke Okeda, a lawyer representing Kyoto Animation, said in a statement on Jan 28 that he was “aware that the appeal has been withdrawn”, but declined to comment further.
Public broadcaster NHK and other Japanese media reported that Aoba dropped the appeal on Jan 27, citing the Osaka High Court.
Aoba’s lawyers could file a motion to invalidate his withdrawal of the appeal, but no motion has been filed so far, according to Japanese network ABC News.
On the morning of July 18, 2019, Aoba broke into the studio building
Many of those killed
The victims “were engulfed in fire and smoke in the blink of an eye… They died an anguishing death as the studio instantly turned into a hell”, Judge Keisuke Masuda said in his 2024 ruling.
A number of victims were found on a spiral stairwell leading to the roof, suggesting they were overcome as they desperately tried to escape.
More than 30 others were injured, with firefighters calling the incident “unprecedented”.
Aoba, who was arrested near the scene, sustained burns on 90 per cent of his body and only regained consciousness weeks after the fire.
Aoba believed that the studio – known by its fans as KyoAni – stole his ideas, prosecutors said, a claim the company has denied.
Japan is one of the few developed countries with capital punishment and polls show public support for it is high.
As of December, more than 100 people were on death row in the country. AFP
