Police obtain arrest warrant for man over deadly studio arson

July 21, 2019

Kyoto--Police on Saturday obtained an arrest warrant for a man who has already been held for a suspected arson attack on an animation studio in the western Japan city of Kyoto that has claimed the lives of 34 people and injured many others.

The suspect, Shinji Aoba, 41, is hospitalized after suffering burns all over his body in the attack. The police department of Kyoto Prefecture plans to serve the arrest warrant on Aoba after he recovers from the injuries.

The warrant says that Aoba allegedly entered Kyoto Animation Co.'s No. 1 studio in the city's Fushimi Ward around 10:30 a.m. Thursday (1:30 a.m. GMT), released gasoline and set it alight, killing five employees of the company.

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

According to its website, the famed animation company hosts a novel competition and makes prize-winning works into anime. The company also publishes so-called "light novels."

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

The police department suspects that Aoba may have committed the crime out of his one-sided grudge against the company, investigative sources said. The police will work to determine his motive behind the suspected crime, including by examining if he has created any novels.

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.

Meanwhile, 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