-{{Short description|2019 attack in Kyoto, Japan}}
-{{good article}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
+{{Short description|2019 mass murder in Kyoto, Japan}}
+{{Good article}}
{{Expand Japanese|topic=culture|date=November 2023}}
+{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Kyoto Animation arson attack
| native_name = 京都アニメーション放火殺人事件
| map_caption =
| location = 15-1 Inaba, Momoyama-chō, [[Fushimi-ku, Kyoto|Fushimi]], [[Kyoto]], [[Kyoto Prefecture]], Japan
| target = [[Kyoto Animation]] Studio 1
-| coordinates = {{coord|34|55|59.0|N|135|47|34.6|E|type:event_region:JP-27|display=inline,title}}
-| date = {{start date|2019|07|18|df=y}}
+| coordinates = {{Coord|34|55|59.0|N|135|47|34.6|E|type:event_region:JP-27|display=inline,title}}
+| date = {{Start date|2019|07|18|df=y}}
| time = 10:31 a.m. [[Japan Standard Time|JST]]
| timezone = [[UTC+09:00]]
| type = [[Arson]], [[mass murder]]
-| weapons = [[Gasoline]] (40 {{tooltip|L|Liters}}), [[lighter]], [[Knife|knives]] <small>(multiple, unused)</small>
+| weapons = [[Gasoline]] ({{Convert|40|L||abbr=}}), [[lighter]], [[Knife|knives]] <small>(multiple, unused)</small>
| fatalities = 36
| injuries = 34 (including the perpetrator)
| perpetrator = Shinji Aoba (青葉真司)<ref name="lat_20230905_guilty-plea" />
}}
+
The {{Nihongo|'''Kyoto Animation arson attack'''|京都アニメーション放火殺人事件|Kyōto Animēshon hōka satsujin jiken|{{literal|Kyoto Animation arson murder incident}}|lead=yes|group=lower-alpha}} occurred at [[Kyoto Animation]]'s Studio 1 building in the [[Fushimi-ku, Kyoto|Fushimi]] ward of [[Kyoto]], [[Kyoto Prefecture]], Japan, on the morning of 18 July 2019. The [[arson]] killed 36 people, injured an additional 34 (including the suspect), and destroyed most of the materials and computers in Studio 1. It is one of the [[List of massacres in Japan|deadliest massacres in Japan]] since the end of [[World War II]], the deadliest building fire in Japan since the 2001 [[Myojo 56 building fire]], and the first [[massacre]] ever to have occurred at a studio associated with an entertainment company, and the [[animation industry]].
The suspect, who did not work for the studio, entered the front door carrying about {{Convert|40|L||abbr=}} of [[gasoline]], then doused the area and several employees before igniting it. After setting himself on fire while lighting the fuel, the suspect attempted to flee, but was apprehended by police about {{convert|100|m|ft}} from the building. Witnesses stated they heard him accusing the studio of [[plagiarism]]. After awaiting his recovery from life-threatening burns for more than ten months, the police arrested 42-year-old Shinji Aoba on suspicion of murder and other offenses on 27 May 2020.<ref name="nikkei_20200527_suspectarrest"/> He was formally indicted on 16 December 2020. Aoba eventually pled guilty to the charges on 5 September 2023, and was sentenced to death on 25 January 2024.<ref name="jt_20240125_death-penalty" />
{{Nihongo|'''Shinji Aoba'''|青葉 真司|Aoba Shinji}} was identified as the suspect by police.<ref name="ap_20190720_name"/><ref name="nhk_20190720_aoba1"/> He was born on May 16, 1978, in [[Urawa, Saitama]], Japan.<ref name="kyotoshimbun_20230906_second-trial" /> He was 41 years old at the time of the attack.
-According to locals, a man resembling Aoba was spotted near Studio 1 days before the incident.<ref name="bbc_20190720_daysbefore"/><ref name="kyodo_20190726_photo"/><ref name="guardian_20190729_daysbefore"/> He was also reported to have visited several places of interest related to ''[[Sound! Euphonium]]'' around the city in days prior to the attack.<ref name="guardian_20190729_daysbefore"/><ref name="jt_20190730_daysbefore" /> Immediately following the attack, Aoba fled the scene after being chased by employees of the studio but was apprehended by the Kyoto Prefectural Police near [[Rokujizō Station]] of [[Keihan Electric Railway]], about {{convert|100|m|ft}} from the studio;<ref name="asahi_20190720_arrest"/> Aoba was then taken to a hospital with severe burns to the legs, chest, and face.<ref name="mainichi_20190718_arson"/><ref name="nhk_20190718_arsonrescue"/>
+According to locals, a man resembling Aoba was spotted near Studio 1 in the days before the incident.<ref name="bbc_20190720_daysbefore"/><ref name="kyodo_20190726_photo"/><ref name="guardian_20190729_daysbefore"/> He was also reported to have visited several places of interest related to ''[[Sound! Euphonium]]'' around the city in days prior to the attack.<ref name="guardian_20190729_daysbefore"/><ref name="jt_20190730_daysbefore" /> Immediately following the attack, Aoba fled the scene after being chased by employees of the studio but was apprehended by the Kyoto Prefectural Police near [[Rokujizō Station]] of [[Keihan Electric Railway]], about {{convert|100|m|ft}} from the studio;<ref name="asahi_20190720_arrest"/> Aoba was then taken to a hospital with severe burns to the legs, chest, and face.<ref name="mainichi_20190718_arson"/><ref name="nhk_20190718_arsonrescue"/>
During his transport to the hospital, Aoba admitted to having started the fire,<ref name="ann_20190717_fire"/> possibly for revenge,<ref name="variety_20190719_motive"/> accusing the studio of {{Nihongo|"ripping off" or "[[Plagiarism|plagiarising]]"|[[wikt:パクる|パクリ]][[wikt:やがる|やがって]]|pakuri yagatte}} his novels.{{efn|name=Plagiarism|Plagiarism reports from many sources.<ref name="sankei_20190718_shine" /><ref name="cnbc_20190719_arson"/><ref name="chunichi_20190718_arson"/><ref name="asahi_20190718_pakuri" /><ref name="express_20190718_fundraiser" /><ref name="mainichi_20190719_motive" />}} In spite of this, Hatta had initially stated that there is no record of anyone submitting work to their annual writing contest under Aoba's name.<ref name="ann_20190720_presresponse"/> Subsequently, Kyoto Animation revealed that they had received a draft novel from Aoba; however, it did not pass the first-stage assessment and was forgotten, and its contents were confirmed to have no similarities to any of their published works.<ref name="jt_20190731_suspectnovel"/><ref name="hr_20190730_suspectnovel"/> It was later revealed that Aoba believed that a scene about buying discounted meat in the fifth episode of ''[[Tsurune]]'' was similar to one in the novel he submitted.<ref name="kyodo_20200718_anniversary"/><ref name="soranews_20210108_copyclaim"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Scenes from Kyoto Animation works that Aoba claims were "plagiarized"<ref name="yomiuri_20230907_plagiarism-claim" />
-! !! [[Free!]] !! [[Tsurune]] !! [[K-On!]]
+! !! ''[[Free!]]'' !! ''[[Tsurune]]'' !! ''[[K-On!]]''
|-
! KyoAni works
| A school banner reading "Swimming club advances to regional tournament" is blown in the wind, and a banner for the judo club can be seen below.
Aoba had a prior [[criminal history]] and was known to suffer from [[mental illness]]. In 2012, he robbed a convenience store with a knife in [[Ibaraki Prefecture]] and was subsequently jailed for three-and-a-half years.<ref name="docomo_20190718T1923+09_suspecthistory"/><ref name="cna_20190719_motive"/> It was speculated after the attack that Aoba's mental illness would reduce his maximum penalty for the attack from a death sentence to [[life imprisonment]].<ref name="japantoday_20190817_mentalillness"/>
-On 12 May 2023, the Kyoto District Court announced that Aoba would stand trial in September 2023 and that a verdict would be announced in January 2024.<ref name="mainichi_20230718_4y-memorial" /> Aoba pleaded guilty to the charges on 5 September 2023,<ref name="lat_20230905_guilty-plea /> and on 7 December the prosecutors announced they would be seeking the death penalty for Aoba.<ref name="guardian_20231207_death-penalty-sought" /> On 25 January 2024, the court announced that Aoba had been sentenced to death.<ref name="st_20240125_death-sentence" /><ref name="cbs_20240125_death-sentence" /><ref name="bbc_20240125_death-sentence" /> The day after, Aoba filed an appeal against the death sentence.<ref name="st_20240126_appeal" /> Aoba told a local press that he "accepted the death sentence", but he went ahead with the appeal as he wanted to "speak out".<ref name="st_20240128_accepts" />
+On 12 May 2023, the Kyoto District Court announced that Aoba would stand trial in September 2023 and that a verdict would be announced in January 2024.<ref name="mainichi_20230718_4y-memorial" /> Aoba pleaded guilty to the charges on 5 September 2023,<ref name="lat_20230905_guilty-plea" /> and on 7 December the prosecutors announced they would be seeking the death penalty for Aoba.<ref name="guardian_20231207_death-penalty-sought" /> On 25 January 2024, the court announced that Aoba had been sentenced to death.<ref name="st_20240125_death-sentence" /><ref name="cbs_20240125_death-sentence" /><ref name="bbc_20240125_death-sentence" /> The day after, Aoba filed an appeal against the death sentence.<ref name="st_20240126_appeal" /> Aoba told a local press that he "accepted the death sentence", but he went ahead with the appeal as he wanted to "speak out".<ref name="st_20240128_accepts" />
== Aftermath ==
One month after the arson attack, the victims began to return to work at the other Kyoto Animation studio.<ref name="soranews_20190809_returntowork"/><ref name="soranews_20191021_returntowork"/> As of October 2019, while the number of Kyoto Animation employees decreased from 176 to 137, 27 of the surviving 33 victims returned to work with several having decided to take extended breaks to cope with the stress and anxiety brought by the attack.<ref name="soranews_20191021_returntowork"/><ref name="asahi_20191019_press"/><ref name="yomiuri_20191018_press"/>
=== Measures to prevent recurrence ===
The [[Fire and Disaster Management Agency]] and the [[National Police Agency (Japan)|National Police Agency]] issued a notice on 25 July 2019, requiring gas stations to maintain sales records of people purchasing gasoline in refillable containers, which conform to fire safety regulations.<ref name="fdma_20190725_gasolinesaleregs"/> Each record is to contain the buyer's personal information such as name, address, the purpose of the purchase, and quantity purchased.<ref name="fdma_20190725_gasolinesaleregs"/> Although the notice had no legal backing, most buyers complied with this additional requirement voluntarily.<ref name="ks_20200131_gasolinesaleregs"/> This measure was formalised with the relevant regulations revised and coming into force on 1 February 2020 to make the sales records mandatory.<ref name="ks_20200131_gasolinesaleregs" /><ref name="ann_20191027_gasolinesalelaw" /> Post incident, the Kyoto Municipal Fire Department formulated guidelines for evacuation in the event of arson or terrorism and encouraged the installation of evacuation ladders.<ref name="asahi_20191017_evacuationguidelines"/>
-As a result of the attack, police in Japan became more vigilant with death threats directed at other companies, such as [[Khara (studio)|Khara]],<ref name="ann_20191016_kharathreat"/> [[Square Enix]],<ref name="siliconera_20190809_squareenixthreat"/> [[Animate (retailer)|Animate]],<ref name="japantoday_20191215_animatethreat"/> and ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]'' developer company [[Key (company)|Key]],<ref name="soranews_20190908_keythreat"/> who they each received later threats referencing the Kyoto Animation attack.
+As a result of the attack, police in Japan became more vigilant with death threats directed at other companies, such as [[Khara (studio)|Khara]],<ref name="ann_20191016_kharathreat"/> [[Square Enix]],<ref name="siliconera_20190809_squareenixthreat"/> [[Animate (retailer)|Animate]],<ref name="japantoday_20191215_animatethreat"/> and ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]'' developer company [[Key (company)|Key]],<ref name="soranews_20190908_keythreat"/> who each later received threats referencing the Kyoto Animation attack.
=== Memorial ===
A tribute video was published, one year after the attack, on 18 July 2020.<ref name="twitter_20210718_memvid"/> The company had considered holding a memorial ceremony, but in light of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Japan]], decided against it.<ref name="kyoani_20210702_nomemvisit"/> Similarly, at 10:30 am JST on 18 July 2021, Kyoto Animation's YouTube channel streamed a 13-minute video to "provide a place for everyone to share their thoughts and feelings".<ref name="youtube_20210718_livestream"/> In the video were messages and tributes from the studio, from staff members, and from the families of some of the deceased. The company requested that fans not visit the former site of Studio 1 on the anniversary of the incident to respect the wishes of local residents.<ref name="kyoani_20210702_nomemvisit"/>
projects / BK-2020-09.git / commitdiff