One-sided grudge suspected behind Kyoto studio attack

July 21, 2019

Kyoto--Police suspect that the man allegedly responsible for a deadly arson attack on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio in the western Japan city of Kyoto may have committed the crime out of his one-sided grudge against the company, investigative sources said Saturday.

According to the police department of Kyoto Prefecture and other sources, the man, Shinji Aoba, 41, allegedly entered the studio in the city's Fushimi Ward from its main entrance on the first floor around 10:30 a.m. Thursday (1:30 a.m. GMT), released gasoline and ignited it with a lighter.

When he was detained on the street some 100 meters from the studio soon after the incident, Aoba, dressed in a red T-shirt, told the police that he released gasoline and lit a fire because the company stole his novel.

According to the website of Kyoto Animation, the company hosts a novel competition and makes prize-winning works into anime.

But Kyoto Animation President Hideaki Hatta told reporters on Saturday that he has never heard of the suspect's name.

Aoba remains hospitalized after suffering burns all over his body in the incident. The police will work to determine his motive behind the suspected crime, including by examining if he has created any novels, after he recovers from the injuries.

The arson attack has left more than 30 people dead and many others injured.

Around 5 p.m. Wednesday, a woman in her 80s witnessed a man dressed in red lying on a bench at a park near the studio.

A woman living near the studio quoted one of her acquaintances as saying that a man in a red T-shirt had been hanging around near the facility since days before the arson attack.

On the night of last Sunday, Aoba had trouble with a neighbor while staying at his home in the eastern Japan city of Saitama. The Kyoto police suspect that Aoba may have come to Kyoto later and stayed around the studio to prepare for the attack. Jiji Press