On 5 September 2023, the trial of Aoba Shinji, who set fire to Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio and killed 36 people and injured another 32 people, started.
In this post, I will try to put in the key points of this trial, and update it along the way as it heads to verdict on 25 January 2024.
Last updated: 12 February 2024
Conclusion (as of 26 January 2024): Aoba was found guilty and sentenced to death on 25 January 2024 after a trial that spanned 143 days, with 22 sessions of questioning that was opened to the public, and a final 23rd session for the verdict and sentence. There were also several closed-door sessions, although the number has not been made known. In the 22nd open session, the prosecution asked that Aoba Shinji be given the death sentence. Meanwhile, the defence asserted that Aoba is delusional and cannot be held responsible for his actions, or deserves a lighter sentence due to his mental disorder. On 26 January 2024, Aoba's lawyers submitted an appeal to Osaka High Court. (As
for what lies ahead, it is possible that Aoba himself may choose to withdraw
that appeal. I will continue to post follow-ups
here.)
5 September 2023:
Opening session. Aoba admitted that he set fire to the studio, but claimed that he did not imagine so many would die. His lawyer entered a plea of not guilty, saying he was not capable of distinguishing right from wrong due to mental disorder. Although families of the victims were present in court, Aoba did not offer anything near an apology for his actions.
6 September 2023:
Day 2. The prosecutors showed three examples of what Aoba claimed were ideas stolen from him. Aoba submitted two works to Kyoani's light novel competition in 2017. In his works, (1) there was a scene that featured a banner hanging on the outside of a school building, which was allegedly stolen for a scene in Free! series. (2) There was a scene of his protagonist buying 50% discounted food, which was alleged to be similar to the characters in Tsurune buying 20% discounted meat at the supermarket. (3) There was a scene of high school boy being told by his teacher that he would have to stay back a year if he continued like this, which was alleged to be similar to a scene in K-On! in which a character told her junior that she stayed back a year.
(1) Banners are flown on school buildings all the time. This can hardly be said to be an original idea of Aoba, and such scenes appear in many many anime and drama. (2) Buying discounted stuff at the supermarket is also a common thing and appears in other works too, so I don't see how Kyoani could be pinpointed as stealing his ideas. (3) Finally, K-On! aired in 2009 to 2010, way before Aoba submitted his works to Kyoani, so there is no way for Kyoani to have stolen his ideas unless they have time travellers.
Prosecutors mentioned that, between August 2016 to March 2019, Aoba visited sites related to Kyoani 2,539 times on his smartphone, and read 352 articles related to a female director at Kyoani.
The female director is likely to be Yamada Naoko, who worked on K-On!, since Utsumi Hiroko, who worked on Free! had left Kyoani by then.
7 September 2023:
Day 3. This is the first day in which Aoba was cross-examined. This cross-examination will take place over six days. It started with the defence asking him questions.
11 September 2023:
Day 4 of the trial. This was again a day of questioning by the defence. Aoba said that he started writing novels after watching Suzumiya. He decided to submit to Kyoani's writing competition because the competition had just started and he thought he would have a chance to establish himself and create an amazing anime. Even if he did not win, he thought he would be able to gain the attention of someone at Kyoani, which may lead to job opportunities. In total, he submitted two works to Kyoani's writing competition. He also mentioned that he met someone online who he claimed was a female director at Kyoani. He fell in love with her, but when she started calling him a rapist after she learned about his past history of stealing underwear, he felt that he could no longer submit works to Kyoani's competition. He wanted to go to prison and so he robbed a convenience store and subsequently went to prison. While serving his sentence, he saw K-On! and thought his idea was stolen. He also mentioned that he came across this person referred to as "No. 2" who was the hidden figure who worked with Kyoani to ruin his life.
At the trial, only Aoba's online messages (with the supposed female director) were shown, so it is not known if the female director personae actually existed or if it was his imagination.
The female directors during this time were Aratani Tomoe (who left Kyoani in 2010), Takao Noriko (who subsequently left and became a freelancer), Yamada Naoko (who left Kyoani in 2020), and Utsumi Hiroko (who left Kyoani around 2015). It was not specified which female director Aoba was referring to.
13 September 2023:
Day 5 of the trial, and again, questioning by the defence. Aoba said he felt betrayed because Kyoani did not select his works for their competition when he submitted them (one long story and one short story) for the competition seven years ago (which would be 2016). He also mentioned that he met the "female director" online and that she mentioned his work in her blog even though his work did not win any prize. Wanting to show his determination to break off all ties with Kyoani, he burnt his notebook of ideas, which he had collected bit by bit over 10 years.
About a year before the arson attack, he saw a Kyoani series (probably Tsurune) and thought Kyoani stole his idea for that series, and he started to hate Kyoani and wrote online about taking revenge. A month before the attack, he bought six knives and wanted to indiscriminately kill people at Omiya Station in Saitama where he lived, but gave up the idea as he thought there wasn't enough people at the station to cause a major incident.
Given that Aoba met this "female director" in 2017 or maybe 2018, it could be either Yamada Naoko or Fujita Haruka. Although the name was brought up in the trial, it was not reported in the news.
Personally, I think the prosecutors should talk to the "female director" about disclosing "her" name. All the online speculation can be negative, and it should be made clear if she was actually involved, or it was just someone else posing as her online.
14 September 2023:
Day 6 of the trial, and today, the prosecutors started questioning Aoba. He arrived in Kyoto three days before the arson attack as he did not know the location of 1st Studio and wanted to locate it himself without having to ask other people. When asked what he felt about hurting administrative staff at the studio, he replied that anime is created by a team of people, so to him, there was no one who was unrelated. The prosecution also pointed out a discrepancy between his replies in court and the testimony he gave during police questioning. When asked if people at the studio knew about the alleged stealing of his ideas, he said that those who know, know, and those who don't did not put in the effort to know. Regarding the fire, he took reference from an arson attack that took place in 2001 in Aomori Prefecture.
19 September 2023:
Day 7 of the trial. Aoba said that he tried to imitate the style of Kyoani's works in his stories, specifically, Suzumiya Haruhi. His works were set in a school setting due to influence by Kyoani works. He use the names of people he met in prison for the characters in his stories, and used the words of his co-workers at his part-time job for dialogue in his works. In retrospect, he thinks that he went overboard when he set fire to the studio, and that he didn't have to kill more than 30 people for a story.
20 September 2023:
Day 8 of the trial. The families of the victims questioned Aoba today. The trial adjourned for a while as the defence objected to the questioning, stating that the questions are a repeat of those that have been posed so far. When asked by the husband of Ikeda Shoko (who did the character design for Haruhi and other KyoAni works) if she was a target of his attack, Aoba said that he targeted Kyoto Animaion in general and not specific people. When the mother of a victim said that her daughter joined Kyoani only after the work that Aoba alleged stole his idea, and asked Aoba if he thought it was fine for her to die too, Aoba replied in a soft voice that he didn't think so far. (Trial will resume on 25 September 2023.)
25 September 2023:
Day 9 of the trial. Aoba stated that, for the trial so far, he had been answering questions not based on his memory but from records, as he does not really remember much about what happened. The defence continued to plead not guilty, or at least a lighter sentence, based on his mental state, but the prosecution advocates that Aoba has the ability to be responsible for this actions. Aoba said that if there were Kyoani employees who did not know the studio had "stolen works", it was their fault for not making the effort to find out. A member of the jury pointed out that Aoba also did not make enough effort to find out if there were Kyoani employees who did not know about the "stolen works", which made Aoba fall silent. The questioning of Aoba ended today, and the next session on 27 September 2023 will be the questioning of Kyoani's president and witnesses.
27 September 2023:
Day 10 of the trial. Witnesses were called to the stand today. One was a female employee (in her second year with Kyoani) who was at the first floor of the studio that day. She said a stranger poured something that smelled like fuel on her, her desk, and other stuff, and shouted "Die!" while lighting it on fire, and she saw three other employees engulfed in orange flames. She thought she was going to die, and escaped into the toilet and out of the building through a window. A male employee (in his tenth year with Kyoani) said that he was on the way up from the first floor to the second floor when he saw flames that reached as high as the ceiling of the first floor. Thinking that he needed to tell the people upstairs to evacuate, he went upstairs, closing the door to the stairs, and hoping that the people on the first floor could somehow escape. However, smoke reached the second floor in about 15 to 20 seconds. He eventually escaped by jumping out of a window from the second floor. The trial will continue on 2 October 2023, when the president of Kyoani is expected to take the stand.
2 October 2023:
Day 11 of the trial. Hatta Hideaki, the president of Kyoani, took the stand today as a prosecution witness. He said that there was nothing he could do except see his employees being carried out from the studio that day. He also said that the company is not one that steals other people's ideas and hopes that a proper sentence can be handed out. He mentioned some of the victims' names during the trial, such as director Takemoto, Ikeda Shoko, and Kigami Yoshiji. He said that the reason he chose Kyoto when setting up the company was because Kyoto is known for being a place that makes things. The trial will continue next week, with Aoba being questioned again.
11 October 2023:
Day 12 of the trial. Aoba was questioned today. He said that he only knew about the scale of the damage he had done when he was read the arrest warrant and shown pictures of the burnt studio. He stated that he thought there were only about three casualties. When the prosecution stated that this statement contradicts his earlier one, in which he said he chose the studio because he wanted the most casualties, he said that there was a previous arson case in which eight persons died when a mahjong parlour was set on fire. When the judge asked him if he thought about the fire spreading to the second and third floors because he pour petrol near the stairwell, he said that he did not think about that. He also replied that he did not notice the stairwell when asked by the jury. When asked about what he thought of Kyoani's president Hatta's statement that Kyoani does not steal other people's ideas, he said that he thinks this is something he cannot help but say since Hatta is the president of the company. He also stated that the "female director" mentioned his ideas on a blog.
23 October 2023:
Day 13 of the trial. The trial has shifted toward whether Aoba is capable mentally of taking responsibility for his actions. A doctor who examined him prior to the trial (before Aoba was officially charged with the crimes) on request from the prosecution testified today that while Aoba developed a personality that blames things on others and imagines things, it was his personality and the setback of not being selected for the Kyoani awards that led him to blame Kyoani, and his delusions did not affect the crime that he committed. The defence said that their doctor who conducted a mental assessment of Aoba had a different opinion from the prosecution's doctor, and that both opinions should be heard.26 October 2023:
Day 14 of the trial. A doctor who examined Aoba after he was charged (aka the defence's doctor; he met Aoba 12 times after Aoba was charged) testified that Aoba's delusions, such as being under the surveillance of the public security bureau and that Kyoani stole his ideas, led him to commit the arson as he thought it was the only way to put an end to these imagined "offences" against him. The doctor testified that Aoba did not think these were delusions and took them as real. He said that Aoba became delusional about 15 years ago and took his delusions are real, saying that Aoba suffers from delusional disorder. The prosecution's stance is that Aoba has the ability to be responsible for his actions, while the defence continues to advocate that his mental state makes Aoba unable to take responsibility for his actions, or should at least be a mitigating factor when considering culpability. 30 October 2023:
Day 15 of the trial. The two doctors (prosecution and defence) appeared in court today and were asked about the differences in their assessments. The prosecution's doctor, Wada, again stated that Aoba's delusions did not significantly affect his actions in reality, while the defence's doctor, Okada, again stated that Aoba thought his ideas were stolen, leading to the crime. Both doctors testified that Aoba's mental illness did not have any impact on the planning of the crime. The next session will be on 6 November, when the prosecution and defence will present arguments regarding Aoba's ability to take responsibility for his actions.6 November 2023:
Day 16 of the trial. The prosecution and defence presented their interim arguments today, with the prosecution's turn in the morning and the defence's in the afternoon. The prosecution stated that Aoba hesitated before committing the crime and understood that arson is a serious crime, showing that he is fully capable of taking responsibility for his actions. Meanwhile, the defence stated that Aoba has lived with delusions for many years and could not tell the difference between reality and delusions. Therefore, the defence argued that it cannot be said with certainty that Aoba is capable of being responsible for his actions. The trial will be proceeding to the next stage of determining the sentence, starting with a series of closed sessions that will eventually determine if Aoba is able to take responsibility for his actions. The victims' families will be taking the stand in sessions at the end of November. Closing statements will be presented on 7 December 2023, with verdict on 25 January 2024.27 November 2023:
Day 17 of the trial. Or rather, Day 17 of the trial open to the public, as the trial had gone on for a few closed sessions since Day 16. The trial has moved onto the stage for determination of sentencing, with the prosecution and defence providing opening statements today again. Aoba said that it was imprudent of him, and he is full of regret for not thinking of other alternatives. He said that he thinks it is his duty to answer questions at the trial to leave proper records. However, when posed questions by families of the victims, he avoided the questions, stating that he wants to answer them at the questioning on 6 December instead. The next session will be on 29 November 2023 when the families of the victims voice their opinions and feelings.So far, the trial has gone through three major stages. The first 12 sessions sought to establish the facts. From the 13th session on 23 October 2023, the court sought to establish if Aoba was capable of taking responsibility for his actions, including closed sessions after four sessions that were public. Finally, today is the start of the part where the court started deliberating about sentencing. The question of whether Aoba was capable of taking responsibility for
his actions seems to have been resolved already during the closed
sessions. The final part of the trial will take place on 7 December
2023.
29 November 2023:
Day 18 of the trial. Today, the families of the victims expressed their opinions and feelings. The father of one victim (a 25-year-old female employee, most probably Takechi Miho) expressed that he hopes Aoba will pay for his crime with his life. He does not need apologies or remorse, because this is a crime that cannot be atoned for by apologies or remorse. The mother of victim Kuriki Ami also voiced her opinion, saying that she thinks there is no way Aoba will sincerely apologise or feel remorse, and strongly advocates that he be given the capital sentence so that he feels the same fear, desperation, and sadness. A wife who lost her husband said that she wants Aoba to know that he robbed a young child of his/her father. The trial continues on 30 November 2023 with further opinions and statements from the victims' families. The father of victim Watanabe Sayaka asked that Aoba be made to pay with the capital punishment. The father of victim Tokimori Tomoka wrote his statement and had a police officer read it as he did not want to breathe the same air as Aoba. In his statement, he asked for Aoba to be sentenced to capital punishment.30 November 2023:
Day 19 of the trial. Today, the families of eight victims expressed their opinions and feelings. They include: the mother of Kasama Yuka, the mother of Kaneo Yumi, the sister of Watanabe Mikiko, the brother of a 32-year-old male employee (most probably Miyaji Atsushi), the mother of a male employee, and the father of a female employee. They mostly share the same sentiments as others who have already voiced their opinions, stating that they did not feel Aoba has shown any remorse, and ask for him to be given the death sentence. The trial will continue on 4 December 2023, when more families of the deceased victims as well as other victims who suffered wounds (both severe and light) will express their opinions.4 December 2023:
Day 20 of the trial. More families of the victims expressed their opinions, including the mother of a female employee, and the younger brother of another female employee (he said that it is not possible to make Aoba die 36 times, and calling it a death sentence sounds too light, and hopes the jury will make Aoba pay with his blood).
Victims who suffered wounds also took the stand. One male employee, who was on the first floor during the arson attack and suffered wounds, said that he was involved in conceptualising the scenario for one of the works that Aoba alleged was stolen. The employee said that no one in the team had mentioned Aoba's name, nor had anyone read Aoba's story, and that Kyoani had nothing to do with the allegation. The image of his colleagues being engulfed in flames is forever engraved him in, and he keeps asking himself if it is okay for him to live in happiness. It is only anime and fiction that allows one to talk about hope amid grief that can never be overcome, and that is why they will continue to talk about hope.
Another victim, a female employee who was seriously injured and had to under rehabilitation for three years, said that she hated herself for how her disfigured body looks now and could not feel strongly that she was lucky to be alive. Continuing to create works is her way of taking revenge against Aoba.
6 December 2023:
Day 21 of the trial. A male employee who was injured in the fire said that he still feels guilty for having survived the attack, and that he wants Aoba to pay with his life as there is no sentence that can allow Aoba to atone for his action. The husband of Ikeda Shoko asked Aoba what he thinks now about Ikeda Shoko or her son, and Aoba replied that he feels sorry. When asked if he thinks they have forgiven him, Aoba said that he does not think so.For the first time in the trial so far, Aoba voiced an apology to the victims and their families. Aoba said that he no longer feels that strong desire to take thorough revenge. Aoba said that, thinking back now, it was a regretful. Everyone had his or her dream and a family that supported them, and he crushed those dreams. He is thankful for the care given to him since his injury, and if he had been in such a situation before the attack, he would likely not have taken the same action. He said that he agrees with the victims and the bereaved families that he should atone for this crime with the death sentence.
The prosecution will state the sentence that they are asking for on 7 December 2023. On the same day, the defence will make their final statement. It will be the last day of the trial before verdict is passed on 25 January 2024.
7 December 2023:
Day 22 of the trial. This is the final day of the trial before sentencing on 25 January 2024. The prosecution has asked that Aoba be given the death sentence because this case involved the deaths of a very high number of people that makes it stand out in Japan's history, and his motive was extremely unreasonable and selfish. The prosecution asserted that Aoba is able to take responsibility for his actions and there were no mitigating factors to lessen his sentence. His actions were planned, extremely dangerous, very cruel, and had a significant impact on society.The defence continued to assert that Aoba lost his mind and could not be responsible for his actions, or even if so, it should be a mitigating factor for sentencing. When the judge asked if Aoba had anything else to add, Aoba said that he has tried his best to answer all questions during the trial and does not have anything else to say.
The trial concluded just before 15:00 on 7 December 2023. The verdict will be given on 25 January 2024. The three broad possibilities:
1. Guilty and fully capable of taking responsibility for his actions -> Death sentence
2. Guilty but unable to take full responsibility for his actions -> Life imprisonment
3. Not guilty as he is unable to take any responsibility for his actions -> Acquittal
24 January 2024:
The verdict will be handed out tomorrow. The death sentence is likely to be given to Aoba, as reported in this news article.
A day before the trial, local news stations had videos featuring this case, with some other details of the fire. For example, two bodies were found on the first floor, 11 on the second floor, and 20 bodies were found on the staircase that led from the third floor to the rooftop. It also seems that, based on investigations, there were no links found with the "female director" mentioned by Aoba. It looks like Aoba's exchanges with this "female director" online were all one-sided postings by him. Ishida Naomi's father also passed away before the trial, without having any closure as to why his daughter had to die in such a horrible attack.
25 January 2024:
Of the 23 seats allowed for the public to attend the trial, there was a queue of 409 persons. Aoba arrived at the courthouse at around 9:40 a.m. Verdict and sentencing was supposed to take place at 10:30 a.m. but it was delayed until 11:00 a.m. as there were some gaps in the procedures regarding evidence that had to be rectified.
At 11:00 a.m., the judge stated that, while Aoba has been found guilty, the main text (the actual sentence) will be delayed until the reasons for them are stated first. (Basically, this is something that happens in the court. The verdict and sentence is usually stated first, followed by the reasons for them. In this case, the judge is going to give the reasons first, and concluded with the sentence. This is usually done for death sentences or life imprisonment so that the defendants gets to properly listen to the reasons first.) The court adjourned again until 1:00 p.m. before the sentence was read.
At 1:42 p.m., Aoba was read the death sentence. The judge stated that Aoba clearly understood the danger of using petrol, and although he voiced an apology to the victims' families for the first time during the trial, his attitude showed his disrespect for human life. While his delusions might have contributed to his motive, he has a
vengeful personality that seeks revenge against those who he thinks has
wronged him, and he made the decision to choose arson as the means for
taking revenge this time. His actions resulted in the death and injury of many people who worked at a studio that has produced many works that influenced society, and the possibility of someone mimicking his action in the future cannot be denied. The judge stated that Aoba was not mentally incompetent nor in a diminished state at the time of the crime, and was fully capable of taking responsibility for his own actions. Aoba has also not shown remorse. There were no factors to mitigate the death sentence.
It was also made known that the families of 19 victims chose to remain anonymous for the trial. During the trial, these victims were referred to using numbers instead of their names.
After the trial, Kyoto Animation's president Hatta also made a comment, stating that he felt the court made the right decision, and he wishes to express his appreciation to the jury who had to shoulder this heavy responsibility over an extended period, and the judge, police, prosecutors, and everyone else who helped with the trial. However, even though the verdict and sentence have been passed, the frustration remains, and it pains him to think about the regret felt by the deceased victims, employees injured in the attack, and the people close to them. They will continue to cherish the works, filled with the spirit of the victims, and all employees will keep working hard everyday to create more works in the future to pass down the victims' legacy. The company will continue to treasure each employee and allow them to apply their skills to the fullest as it continues to create works for as long as it can. (Source of comment: 京アニ・八田英明社長のコメント全文…死刑判決経ても「無念さはいささかも変わりません」 in Japanese, summarised in English by me)
26 January 2024:
Aoba's lawyers have submitted an appeal to Osaka High Court.
29 January 2024:
Ikeda Shoko's husband went to visit Aoba at the detention centre in Osaka today. Aoba mentioned that he will be letting go of his lawyers because of the difference in their approach to his defence. (This could be a signal that he will be withdrawing the appeal.)
30 January 2024:
Ikeda Shoko's husband again went to visit Aoba at the detention centre in Osaka today.He said that Aoba submitted the appeal because his lawyers suggested it. Aoba was not satisfied with parts of the trial, and felt angry with the doctors who examined him as they categorised everything he said about anime as his delusions. When asked if he will think about withdrawing the appeal, Aoba said that, if he did, it is likely that he would not have the chance to talk to Ikeda Shoko's husband again. Aoba said that he wants to use the appeal as a way to continue conveying his thoughts to people. Ikeda Shoko's husband also said that Aoba told him that, during the trial, Aoba did his best to choose his words so as not to cause hurt to the victims' families. Aoba also kept apologising to him during this meeting.
9 February 2024:
It was made known that Aoba also submitted an appeal on 7 February 2024 against his sentence.
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