Kyoto Animation fire: Man admits setting 2019 blaze
BBC 2023-09-05 08:24:56 • 2 mins
By Kelly Ng
BBC News
A Japanese man has pleaded guilty to starting a fire at a popular animation studio that killed 36 people.
The Kyoto Animation studio blaze on 18 July 2019 was one of Japan's worst-ever murder cases.
Many of those killed were young animators trapped on the upper floor, and another 32 people were injured.
While prosecutors are likely to seek the death penalty, Shinji Aoba's defence lawyers are seeking an acquittal, citing mental incompetence.
His motives are unclear but reports say Aoba accused Kyoto Animation of stealing his work, which the studio has denied.
In 2019, Japan's then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described the attack as "too appalling for words".
