2023-12-07 11:46:56
The prosecution requested the death penalty against the man accused of the arson of the Kyoto Animation studio (KyoAni) in Kyoto in 2019, which killed 36 people and triggered a wave of emotion and indignation , according to Japanese media. Shinji Aoba, 45, admitted to being the author of the fire during the first hearing of his trial in Kyoto at the beginning of September. The verdict is expected on January 25.
Read also: Kyoto Animation, a prominent animation studio devastated by a deadly fire
“I didn’t think so many people were going to die and now I think I’ve gone too far”, declared the accused on the first day of his trial. And on Wednesday, he also apologized for the first time: “I feel terribly sorry and I also have a feeling of guilt”he told the judges, according to comments reported by public television channel NHK. “I think I have to pay for my crime with [cette peine] »he added, responding to the wish of the victims’ families to see him sentenced to death.
He himself was seriously burned in the disaster, which occurred on July 18, 2019, and his injuries required multiple surgical operations. He appeared at his trial in a wheelchair. His lawyers pleaded not guilty, arguing that he had not “the ability to distinguish between good and evil” due to psychiatric disorders, but he was considered fit to stand trial. Shinji Aoba explained that he harbored a strong hatred against the studio, thinking that KyoAni had ” stolen “ ideas from a manuscript he had written and submitted, unsuccessfully, to the studio for an adaptation project.
A separate studio
KyoAni, still active today, is particularly known for his work on series in the Full Metal Panic universe, or productions like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (2006), inspired by the daily lives of high school girls. He also produced the animated adaptation ofA Silent Voice (2016), based on a critically acclaimed manga by Yoshitoki Oima, on the theme of bullying. The studio is known for its social model that goes against usual practices in the archipelago, with a high proportion of women among its employees and better salaries and working conditions than elsewhere.
The arson, which also injured around thirty studio staff, is one of the crimes that have claimed the most victims in Japan in decades. Along with the United States, Japan is one of the few democratic countries to still practice the death penalty, where it is applied by hanging. Japanese public opinion remains largely in favor, despite the criticism.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Opening of the trial of the KyoAni fire, which killed 36 employees of the popular Japanese studio
#Japan #death #penalty #required #person #responsible #arson #Kyoto #Animation #studio