Photo/Illutration Shinji Aoba in a wheelchair at the Kyoto District Court on Sept. 5 (Image drawn by Eri Iwasaki)

KYOTO--The defendant in a horrific arson attack that killed 36 people at a Kyoto Animation Co. studio in 2019 admitted to the charges in his first hearing at the Kyoto District Court on Sept. 5.

Shinji Aoba is accused of killing 36 and attempting to kill 34 others by pouring gasoline and igniting the inferno inside the No. 1 studio in Kyoto’s Fushimi Ward on July 18, 2019.

“I am positive that I did (what is written in the indictment),” said Aoba, 45, reading from a prepared statement. “At the time, I thought I had no other choice, but I did not expect so many people would die.

“I now think that I went overboard.”

He did not apologize to the victims, however. 

His lawyers pleaded not guilty on his behalf, saying that he was mentally incompetent.

Even if he is not exonerated, they said the punishment of the defendant should be lessened on the grounds of a substantially diminished capacity.

Aoba, with his hair cropped short, entered the courtroom in a wheelchair pushed by a court official.

His face appeared whitish presumably as a result of burn treatment.

Aoba, who suffered burns all over his body, long remained unconscious and underwent multiple skin grafts. 

Prosecutors described the arson attack as “revenge driven by a misdirected grudge.”

Aoba’s novel failed to win a contest sponsored by Kyoto Animation in 2017, and he mistakenly believed that the company stole his ideas, according to prosecutors.

The number of victims is believed to the largest in a murder case in Japan during the postwar period. The National Police Agency confirmed it is the highest at least since 1989.

According to the indictment, Aoba entered the three-story studio from the front entrance around 10:30 a.m., doused employees and their surroundings on the ground floor with gasoline and ignited the flammable liquid with a lighter.

Seventy employees were working at the studio, which was almost burnt down. 

A key issue in the trial will be whether Aoba was mentally competent.

Aoba was indicted in December 2020 after prosecutors concluded that he can be held liable for the crime after a six-month psychiatric evaluation under detention.

The Kyoto District Court had a separate mental examination conducted at the request of defense lawyers. 

While the results have not been disclosed, the lawyers say Aoba was mentally incompetent or had diminished capacity. 

Under the Criminal Law, a person does not face criminal punishment if deemed mentally incompetent.

A ruling is expected on Jan. 25 following trial proceedings over 143 days.

Doctors who conducted psychiatric evaluations, the president of Kyoto Animation and other witnesses are expected to testify.

Bereaved family members will be given an opportunity to question the defendant in court.

On Sept. 5, prosecutors identified only 17 murder victims by name. They withheld the identities of the remaining 19 at the request of bereaved families and called them by numbers given to them on evidence. 

The 34 survivors were not named either. 

(This article was written by Shogo Mitsuzumi, Keitaro Nishizaki and Yoko Hibino.)

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