December 16 According to Japanese media reports, the Japanese animation production company Kyoto Animation set fire to the murder, killing 36 people.
For Shinji Aoba, a suspect arrested on suspicion of homicide, the prosecutor judged that he could be held criminally responsible based on the results of the psychiatric appraisal, and planned to prosecute him on charges of arson and homicide on the 16th local time when the expiration of his detention.
According to reports, Aoba broke into the first studio of Kyoto Animation on the morning of July 18, 2019 local time. He was suspected of throwing gasoline on arson, which eventually killed 36 people and injured 33, which was the worst tragedy after the Heisei era.
Aoba himself was treated in the hospital for serious burns. It was not until May 2020 that Japanese police officially arrested Aoba on suspicion of killing and arson.
Aoba, who previously admitted to setting the studio on fire, said, “I think I can kill a lot of people with gasoline.” However, since his medical records involve mental illness, prosecutors and police have been investigating whether he needs to be held accountable.
On December 10, 2020, Japanese police said that the Kyoto District Prosecutor’s Office would formally prosecute Shinji Aoba on charges such as homicide.
According to reports, Japan’s “Kyoto Animation” studio was established in 1981 and is located in Fushimi District, Kyoto City. Before the incident, it had nearly 160 employees and produced many well-known animations such as Haruhi Ryōmiya and “Light Girl”.
