The man who is accused in 2019 put fire at an animation studio in Japan that killed 36 people, admitted the act today, the first day of his trial, but his lawyers said the client he is innocent of them citing them psychiatric problems that deals with. Shinji Aoba, 45, was arrested after the fire that broke out at the studio in Kyoto, in which 32 other people were injured. He has been charged with, among other things, homicide and attempted murder.
“I did it”, Aoba said before the Kyoto court, as reported by the Jiji agency. “I didn’t think so many people would die and now I think I overdid it“, he added.
Aoba appeared in court on wheelchair, as he himself was seriously injured by her fire. More than 90% of his body was burned and he spent several weeks in a coma, while he regained the use of his vocal cords after surgery. According to Takahiro Ueda, one of the doctors who had taken care of him, Aoba had to undergo a total of 12 operations. “I want him to explain everything in court and express his sincere remorse and apologize” to the victims and their families, Ueda noted on Sunday.
In December 2020, after he was found “fit to stand trial”, charges were brought against Aoba. But today his lawyers said their client is innocent, citing his psychiatric problems. Aoba’s motive remains unclearas he had nothing to do with the studio Kyoto Animation (KyoAni), although there are reports that he had accused it of stealing an idea for a script, reports APE-MPE.
According to several accounts, he broke into the studio building and after pouring gasoline on it set it on fire, shouting: “You will die”. Firefighters had declared to the press at the time that the incident was “unprecedented” and that they had “extremely” difficulty in rescuing the workers in the studio and extinguishing the fire. The incident had caused shock both in Japan and abroad.
Source: News Beast
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