A Japanese court has handed down the death penalty to Aoba Shinji, the man responsible for the devastating arson attack on the Kyoto Animation studio in 2019, resulting in the loss of 36 lives.
It is without question that Aoba, who suffered severe burns himself during the incident, was the perpetrator who used gasoline to set the fire ablaze.
During a press conference shortly after the attack, the Kyoto police stated that Aoba had unspecified mental health issues. However, at trial, Aoba pleaded not guilty, with his defense lawyers arguing that he was mentally unfit and should not be held criminally responsible.
Despite these claims, the Kyoto District Court determined that Aoba possessed the ability to distinguish right from wrong at the time of the crime. According to public broadcaster NHK, the court found him to be “neither insane nor mentally incompetent” when the incident occurred.
After affirming Aoba’s mental capacity to face punishment for his crimes, the court recessed and later delivered the verdict, sentencing him to death.
Presiding Judge Masuda Keisuke condemned Aoba’s actions as “truly atrocious and inhumane,” emphasizing that he displayed no regard for the lives of others. The judge added that the horror and pain experienced by the victims, who perished in Studio 1 or suffered afterward, cannot be adequately described.
It is worth noting that Japan is one of the few developed countries that continues to uphold and carry out capital punishment.
Judge Masuda revealed that Aoba had aspired to become a novelist but faced disappointment when his work was not successful. Seeking revenge, he submitted a story to Kyoto Animation, accusing them of plagiarizing his work. However, Japanese media reports indicate that Aoba, who was unemployed and facing financial difficulties, had also planned an attack on a train station north of Tokyo a month prior to the studio arson.
The judge further emphasized the severity of the attack, describing how it transformed the studio into a living hell and caused unimaginable pain for the 36 innocent lives lost.
Known to fans as “KyoAni,” Kyoto Animation is renowned for producing numerous series and feature films featuring schoolgirl characters, including “K-On!,” “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” “Tamako Market,” and “Sound! Euphonium.” One of their notable adaptations was the animated series “Violet Evergarden,” based on the manga of the same name, which was later picked up by Netflix. Two feature films based on “Violet Evergarden” were released in 2020 and 2021.
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Source: Variety