“I now think that I went too far” Suspect in 2019 KyoAni Arson Attack Admits Charges

From Jiji

September 5 2023

KYOTO – A man accused of carrying out a deadly arson attack on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio four years ago admitted the charges in the indictment, in the first hearing of his trial at Kyoto District Court on Tuesday.

“I didn’t imagine that so many people would lose their lives, and I now think that I went too far,” Shinji Aoba, 45, said at the outset of the lay judge trial, admitting that he carried out the attack.

The attack on the No. 1 studio of the animation powerhouse also known as KyoAni in the western Japan city of Kyoto on July 18, 2019, left 36 people dead and 32 others injured, becoming the worst arson incident in Japan in terms of the number of victims since the 1989 start of the Heisei period.

Aoba, who appeared in the courtroom in a wheelchair after suffering severe burns himself in the attack, has been indicted on five charges, including murder, attempted murder and arson.

The defense said Aoba should be acquitted due to his mental incompetence or given leniency due to his diminished capacity.