Japan man admits starting Kyoto Animation fire that killed 36 people: ‘I think I went too far’

Aoba, who nearly died from burns he himself sustained, faces five charges including murder, attempted murder and arson, according to local prosecutors.

He is accused of breaking into the studio’s building, spreading petrol around the ground floor and setting it alight before reportedly shouting “drop dead”.

Many of those killed in the blaze were young staff, including a 21-year-old woman. More than 30 others were injured.

At least 33 dead in suspected arson attack on Japanese anime studio

Aoba’s lawyers on Tuesday entered a plea of not guilty, saying he “did not have the capacity to distinguish between good and bad and to stop committing the crime due to mental disorder”, public broadcaster NHK said.

Chieko Takemoto, who lost her son, told NHK ahead of the hearing that “the grief over the loss remains the same … four years since the incident”

“My son will not come back … but I want to know how the defendant feels now and whether he feels guilty about his crime,” she said.

On Tuesday, 500 people queued up outside in the hopes of securing one of the 35 seats reserved for the public, a court spokesman said.

“I had to come as an anime fan,” one university student from Osaka told NHK in the queue. “If he’s aware of his guilt, I want him to apologise.”

Firefighters told reporters at the time that the incident was “unprecedented” and the mission to rescue victims and extinguish the fire was “extremely difficult”.

More than 90 per cent of Aoba’s skin was burnt and a doctor who treated him told the Yomiuri newspaper this week that he required 12 operations.

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Japan shocked by deadly fire at anime studio

Japan shocked by deadly fire at anime studio

Aoba regained consciousness weeks later and apparently sobbed with relief after undergoing a procedure that restored his ability to speak.

The charges against him were made after a psychiatric evaluation, and prosecutors told the court the arson attack was “committed out of misplaced resentment”.

Aoba had a “delusion” that the studio stole his ideas, they said, something denied by Kyoto Animation.

Japan animation studio set on fire considered ‘revolutionary’ by fans

The court is scheduled to deliver its verdict on January 25.

Kyoto Animation, known by its fans as KyoAni, is well known domestically and abroad for its role in producing popular TV anime series including The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and K-ON!

Kyoto Animation president Hideaki Hatta said he was “heartbroken for the employees who lost their lives and people who were close to them”, according to NHK.