2019 Kyoto Animation Arson

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Overview

2019 Kyoto Animation Arson refers to a fire that broke out at the Kyoto Animation Co anime studio in July 2019, which is suspected to have been caused by an arson attack. The fire resulted in deaths of at least 34 people and injured several dozen more.

Background

At approximately 10:30am local time (9:30pm EST) on July 18th, 2019, a fire broke out at the three-story building of Kyoto Animation studio in Kyoto, Japan.^[1] 74 people were in the building at the time of the fire. A 41-year-old Japanese man, later identified as Shinji Aoba, was seen pouring a flammable liquid inside, saying "drop dead" before setting fire to the building. Several witnesses reported an explosion, with the fire quickly engulfing the entire building.

The fire resulted in deaths of at least 34 people and injuries 35 more, including the suspected arsonist, who has been apprehended by the police. No obvious connection between the individual and the studio was confirmed.

Notable Developments

On July 18th, Kyoto Animation president Hideaki Hatta said that the studio had been receiving emails containing death threats addressed to the studio's office and sales department.^[5]

On the same day, users on 4chan^[2] and Russian 2ch^[3] imageboards reported that two hours prior to the fire, a thread was started on Japanese Futaba (2chan) imageboard in which an anonymous user posted "May I make my debut in the news?" As of 7:20 EST July 18th, 2019, the connection between the post and the arson had not been confirmed.

Suspect Identity

On July 19th, 2019, the Japanese police released the name of the suspect, who was identified as a 41-year-old resident of Saitama City Shinji Aoba.^[6] In 2012, Aoba was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after robbing a convenience store, with some sources reporting that he lived on welfare and was treated for mental health issues. Investigative sources reported that Aoba accused Kyoto Animation of stealing his idea for a novel during the arrest.^[7]^[8]

Online Reactions

Online, users in Japan and worldwide condemned the arson, expressing condolences to the families of those killed and injured.

In the hours after the fire, American licensing company Sentai Filmworks launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to provide financial help to the Kyoto Animation studio.^[4] The campaign raised over $330,000 of its $500,000 goal within seven hours with over 10,000 donations and over $1.3 million in 32 hours with over 42,600 donations.