Japan media reported Shinji Aoba held a grudge against the studio when he doused the entrance in petrol and set it ablaze in 2019
A Japanese man found guilty of carrying out an arson attack that killed 36 people at an anime studio in 2019 was sentenced to death on Thursday.
The blaze that ripped through the studios of Kyoto Animation four-and-a-half years ago was Japan's deadliest crime in decades and stunned the anime industry and its fans around the world.
Shinji Aoba, now 45, broke into the building, spread petrol around the ground floor, lit it and shouted "drop dead" on the morning of July 18, 2019, survivors said.
"The act of pouring an enormous amount of petrol and setting it ablaze is extremely likely to be fatal, and immolating people is truly cruel and inhumane," presiding judge Keisuke Masuda said in his ruling.
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," he said.
Many of those killed were young, including a 21-year-old woman.
Several victims were found on a spiral stairwell leading to the roof, suggesting they were overcome as they desperately tried to escape.
"There was a person who jumped from the second floor... but we couldn't rush to help because the fire was so strong," one woman told local media at the time.
More than 30 others were injured, with firefighters calling the incident "unprecedented" and saying that rescuing people trapped inside was "extremely difficult."
Japan is one of the few developed countries with capital punishment and polls show public support for it is high. As of December, 107 people were on death row.
Aoba, who was arrested near the scene, faced five charges including murder, attempted murder and arson, and prosecutors sought capital punishment.
Presiding Judge Keisuke Masuda (top, centre) of Kyoto District Court and others attend a courtroom where defendant Shinji Aoba's sentencing hearing in Kyoto. (Photo by JIJI Press / AFP)
His lawyers entered a plea of not guilty, saying he had a "mental disorder" but the judge rejected this.
Aoba believed that the studio – known by its fans as KyoAni – stole his ideas, prosecutors said, a claim the company has denied.
Aoba himself sustained burns on 90 per cent of his body and only regained consciousness weeks after the fire, and the ability to speak later still. He reportedly underwent 12 operations for his injuries.
Founded in 1981 by a husband and wife, KyoAni is a household name for anime fans, responsible for popular TV series including "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" and "K-ON!"
After the attack, there was shock and grief in Japan and worldwide, with Apple CEO Tim Cook among those tweeting his support and a crowdfunding campaign raising US$2.4 million to help the firm.
Hideaki Hatta, company president, on Thursday, welcomed the verdict but said that the "thought of all our employees who perished... just breaks my heart."
Inside the courtroom packed with family members of the victims, one person cried and covered their eyes as the judge spoke, local media reported.
"A good number of young people joined our studio after the attack. We will remain committed to taking good care of people who work for us, and making sure every one of them can perform to their potential," Hatta said.
Dozens of KyoAni fans braved the snow to stand outside the courthouse, with one of them Renji Kiriyama, 27, recalling hearing about the fire on his car radio.
"With all the news reports about this case, I hope this will expose more people to KyoAni. If this spreads the name of KyoAni and brings its works to more people and more people know its name, I would be happy," he said.
"I hope the verdict would ease the burden and anguish of the families even a little," said Kentaro Hatanaka, another fan.
"I hope KyoAni will again bring to the world kinds of animations that are filled with life as they did before this happened," he said.
Source: AFP
日本京都動漫工作室火：2019年縱火36人死亡的男子被判死刑
週四，一名日本男子因 2019 年在動漫工作室縱火襲擊導致 36 人死亡而被判死刑。
四年前席捲京都動畫工作室的大火 是日本數十年來最嚴重的犯罪事件，震驚了全世界的動漫產業及其粉絲。
倖存者稱，2019 年 7 月 18 日上午，現年 45 歲的青葉真司 (Shinji Aoba) 闖入大樓，在底層撒上汽油，點燃大樓，並大喊「去死吧」。
審判長增田圭介在裁決中表示： “倒入大量汽油並縱火的行為極有可能致命，自焚確實是殘忍和不人道的。”
他說，受害者「眨眼間就被大火和濃煙吞沒……他們痛苦地死去，工作室瞬間變成了地獄」。
許多罹難者都是年輕人，其中包括一名 21 歲的女性。
在通往屋頂的螺旋樓梯井上發現了幾名受害者，這表明他們在拼命試圖逃跑時被制服了。
一名婦女當時告訴當地媒體：“有人從二樓跳下來……但我們無法急於提供幫助，因為火勢太猛了。”
另有30多人受傷，消防隊員稱這起事件“史無前例”，並表示營救被困在裡面的人“極其困難”。
日本是少數實施死刑的已開發國家之一，民調顯示民眾對其的支持率很高。 截至 12 月，共有 107 人被關在死囚牢房中。
在現場附近被捕的青葉面臨謀殺、謀殺未遂和縱火等五項指控，檢察官尋求死刑。
他的律師提出無罪抗辯，稱他患有“精神障礙”，但法官駁回了這一說法。
檢察官稱，青葉相信工作室（被粉絲稱為京阿尼）竊取了他的想法，但該公司否認了這一說法。
青葉本人全身 90% 被燒傷，直到火災幾週後才恢復知覺，還能說話。 據報道，他因傷接受了 12 次手術。
京阿尼於 1981 年由一對夫婦創立，是動畫迷家喻戶曉的名字，製作了《涼宮春日的憂鬱》和《輕音少女》等熱門電視劇。
襲擊事件發生後，日本和全世界都感到震驚和悲痛，蘋果執行長 Tim Cook 在推特上表示支持，並發起眾籌活動籌集 240 萬美元來幫助該公司。
該公司總裁八田英明 (Hideaki Hatta) 週四對判決表示歡迎，但表示“一想到我們所有遇難的員工……就讓我心碎。”
根據當地媒體報道，法庭內擠滿了受害者家屬，法官發言時，一名受害者摀著眼睛哭泣。
「襲擊發生後，許多年輕人加入了我們的工作室。我們將繼續致力於照顧好為我們工作的人，並確保他們每個人都能發揮自己的潛力，」哈塔說。
數十名京阿尼粉絲冒著大雪站在法院外，其中一位 27 歲的桐山蓮二 (Renji Kiriyama) 回憶起在汽車收音機中聽到火災的消息。
「我希望這個判決能夠減輕家人的負擔和痛苦，哪怕只是一點點，」另一位粉絲畑中健太郎說。
他說：“我希望京阿尼能夠再次為世界帶來充滿生機的動畫，就像這件事發生之前一樣。” （法新社）
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