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It was reported on Friday by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper that the Kyoto District Court is set to start the main trial for the Kyoto Animation arson murder case on Tuesday, September 5, 2023. The court also announced that it plans to release its verdict early next year on Thursday, January 25, 2024.
July 18, 2019, saw Kyoto Animation’s Studio 1 building come under attack by the culprit, who transported 40 liters of gasoline to the building and lit it on fire. The attack sadly took the lives of 36 people at Kyoto Animation, wounding 33 others and a man who was on his way to work - suffering minor injuries from smoke inhalation as a result.
The incident rocked the animation world, with several series and animation studios choosing to go on hiatus or close up shop out of respect for their colleagues at Kyoto Animation. Now, over three years later, the trial can finally begin for the then-41-year old suspect, who is now 44.
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Kyoto Animation studio fire arson murder case expected to have 30+ hearings
The trial for the Kyoto Animation fires is set to have 32 hearings in total. September and October will see hearings held two to three times each week, adding up to a total of 10 hearings in each month. November and December will have hearings five to six times each month. As mentioned above, the verdict is currently planned to come on Thursday, January 25, 2024.
The Kyoto District Court started pre-trial proceedings on May 8 of this year. The pre-trial was held to decide the main trial’s schedule, as well as discuss prior issues and evidence. The honorable Keisuke Masuda served as the presiding judge in the pre-trial proceedings.
Following the day of the attack on Kyoto Animation’s Studio 1 building, Kyoto Prefectural Police apprehended the then-41-year-old suspect Shinji Aoba. Japanese prosecutors formally indicted the suspect in December of 2020. As mentioned above, the suspect used 40 liters of gasoline to start the fire, and used a car to transport the gasoline to the Studio 1 building.
Demolition work on the Studio 1 building concluded in April 2020, with the studio beginning to once again recruit animators in July of the same year. July 2022 saw the animation studio stream a video to serve as a memorial for the third anniversary of the arson attack. Both of the prior anniversaries also saw unique memorial videos streamed.
Hopefully, with the trial set to begin, the building demolished, and the studio thriving once more, survivors and those the deceased left behind can find a way to move on from this tragedy.
Be sure to keep up with all anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
