Suspected Arson at Kyoto Animation Studio Kills 33, Shocking Japan and World

Suspected Arson at Kyoto Animation Studio Kills 33, Shocking Japan and World

KYOTO — The attacker was heard screaming “Die!” as he ignited the liquid he had splashed around an anime studio in Japan.

Within minutes the studio, Kyoto Animation, was a scene of horror: a man hanging from a ledge as flames licked the walls; a pile of bodies on a staircase leading to the roof; a barefoot woman so badly burned that all a bystander could do was spray her with water and wait for help.

By the time the fire was doused, 33 people had died and three dozen had been injured, shocking a nation considered one of the world’s safest. The blaze appeared to be its worst mass killing in decades, and prompted a global outpouring of grief, especially among fans of anime — a school of animation that has become synonymous with Japan.

The attack shook a country still reeling from a stabbing rampage in a Tokyo suburb just weeks ago. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the latest attack left him “at a loss for words.”

The fire started at about 10:30 a.m. local time on Thursday.

Although Japan has a very low rate of violent crime, there are eruptions of rare but extremely violent attacks.

In May, a man stabbed 17 schoolgirls, killing one of them and an adult.

In 1995, members of a doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo, carried out a nerve-gas attack on Tokyo’s subway system, killing 13 people and injuring thousands.

And in 2016, a mass stabbing at a center for people with disabilities outside the city became the worst massacre in Japan since World War II.

The death toll of the Kyoto fire was higher than in any of those attacks, and nearly rivaled that of a fire in 2001 that killed 44 people in a crowded gambling club in Tokyo’s entertainment district. That fire was investigated as possible arson, but the authorities could not confirm that it had been deliberately set.

For the Japanese public, the Kyoto fire touched a nerve, and many poured out their grief on social media: The hashtag #prayforKyoAni was circulated hundreds of thousands of times online.

The studio has produced popular shows and movies, among them “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” “K-On” and “Clannad,” and has done contract work for the world-famous anime company Studio Ghibli.

[Kyoto Animation is revered by anime fans, and known for its “slice of life” stories.]

Japanpedia Team,

Credited & Arranged from:
www.nytimes.com
www.wikipidea.com
www.japan-talk.com
www.tsunagujapan.com
www.japan-guide.com
www.japanpedia.asia
www.theculturetrip.com 

If you enjoyed this article, please share it!