Kyoto Animation Arson Trial Verdict to Be Handed Down by End of Year Says Prosecutors

 

A report from Japanese news wire Kyodo News has revealed that the Kyoto Animation arson and murder trial is expected to be concluded by the end of the year, says the prosecutor’s office. 

 

The suspect, now 44-year-old Shinji Aoba, was formally charged in December 2020 with the murder of 36 people–the largest mass murder in Japan since the Showa era–as well as the attempted murder of 32 others in the arson attack on Kyoto Animation on July 18, 2019. Aoba has been through two rounds of psych evaluations since being arrested in May 2020, one from the prosecutor’s side and another from the defense, with both concluding that the trial can continue.

 

RELATED: Kyoto Animation Arson Suspect Formally Charged With Murder and Other Charges

 

The attack, which occurred on July 17, 2019, took the lives of 36 employees, including The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya director Yasuhiro Takemoto, animator Yoshiji Kigami, chief animation director on the Free! franchise Futoshi Nishiya, Sound! Euphonium character designer Shouko Ikeda, and many more. 35 more people who were inside the building at the time were also injured. 

 

The prosecutor’s office informed relevant parties on March 8, 2023, that a verdict is expected to be handed down within this year, concluding the case. The trial is currently ongoing in the Kyoto District Court with Aoba able to appear in person. 

 

Source: Kyodo News

 

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Daryl Harding is a Senior Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.