Photo/Illutration Takahiro Ueda, professor at Tottori University Hospital’s Emergency and Critical Care Medical Center, had been treating Shinji Aoba, who was sentenced to death for the 2019 arson attack on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio, for about four months. (Yumin Seki)

The doctor who treated the severe burns of convicted arsonist Shinji Aoba said he wants to continue thinking about the meaning of the life he saved.

Aoba was sentenced to death on Jan. 25 for the 2019 arson attack on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio that killed 36 people.

The doctor said he is relieved that Aoba could express his thoughts in his own words at the trial, but he is also concerned about whether the trial taught society ways to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Takahiro Ueda, 52, a professor at Tottori University Hospital’s Emergency and Critical Care Medical Center in Tottori Prefecture, met Aoba, who had burns all over his body, immediately after the arson attack in July 2019.

The doctor treated Aoba at Kindai University Hospital in Osaka Prefecture, where he was working at the time.

About a month later, Aoba regained consciousness.

Aoba underwent multiple skin graft surgeries and other treatment for around four months.

After that, he was moved to a hospital in Kyoto.

After he was arrested in May 2020 and transferred to the Osaka Detention Center, Ueda visited him every few months for treatments.

Unlike in the hospital, however, Ueda was unable to have even simple conversations with Aoba in the detention center, where officers accompanied him.

‘FACE THEM’

As the trial was set to begin, Ueda told Aoba something he had really wanted to say.

“You may face harsh and difficult things ahead, but don’t look away--face them,” he said during one treatment in the detention center.

Aoba did not give a clear response.

The trial began in September last year.

Through questions to the defendant, Aoba’s background and actions leading up to the incident were revealed.

While treating his patient, Ueda could not directly ask him about the incident.

But he now understands why Aoba said during treatment, “I’m not worthy of living,” and asked Ueda, “Have you ever been betrayed?”

While speaking with Aoba, Ueda repeatedly emphasized that “taking lives is absolutely unforgivable, even if you were betrayed.”

Although Ueda found many of Aoba’s words in court to be immature, he viewed the defendant's apology in his own words as a reflection of having accepted the feelings Ueda had expressed during treatment.

Ueda also met with the victims’ families in December.

In response to questions about what kind of person Aoba is and whether his demeanor in court differs from during his treatment, he described Aoba as he knows him.

The families expressed gratitude that the trial was held, saying it offered at least some relief to see a glimpse of remorse from him in the trial.

Hearing that made Ueda feel it had been worth working so hard to save Aoba’s life under the stress and pressure of not knowing when he might die.

However, questions remain for him about whether the trial gave society an opportunity to think about why the incident occurred and how to prevent similar ones.

Before setting the animation studio on fire, Aoba had apparently hesitated, wondering whether he should proceed with the attack.

Ueda imagines Aoba must have reached that fateful day while bottling up his worries.

“What if I had told you not to commit the crime?” Ueda had asked during treatment.

“I don't think I would have done it,” Aoba replied.

Ueda realized that isolation can drive a person to extreme behavior.

“I want to rethink extending a helping hand to those in need,” Ueda said. “We should not let the ruling be the end. Society must continue to think about how to prevent such incidents.”

(This article was written by Shogo Mitsuzumi and Yumin Seki.)

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