Disaster Kyoto Animation studio set on fire - 35 Dead, Many Injured

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...-man-sprays-liquid-at-kyoto-anime-studio.html

A man started a fire at a Kyoto animation studio after spraying a liquid there Thursday morning, leaving nearly 40 people injured, several of them unconscious, and one person feared dead, local police and rescuers said.

The fire started around 10:30 a.m. at a three-story studio of Kyoto Animation Co., a company known for producing popular TV animation series "K-On!!" and "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" (Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu).

The man believed to have set the fire, apparently in his 40s, was among the injured and has been taken to a hospital.

This appears to still be ongoing and details are pretty sparse between any article covering it in english at least. This seems like a very unique case though, in that I don't think there is any precedent for this kind of thing at all.

10+ dead at this point.
View attachment 846932
According to Kyoto Police and fire department, one person died on first floor.
12 more cardiac arrest (dead).
36 more injured, 10 severe, 6 moderate, 20 meh.

View attachment 847467
Locations and Bodycounts based on areas of the building. The 19 on the staircase on the third floor are pretty much stacked on eachother as they tried to make a rush to the roof, but appearantly the door only opens from the outside (suicide prevention) or was a pull door.

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There is no clear indication of where the funds are headed as of yet, other than that they will be on hold until they can coordinate a distribution method.

京アニショップ！ダウンロード販売専用サイト

京都アニメーション製作オリジナルグッズのダウンロードショップです！

kyoani.shop-pro.jp

This is a direct link to the KyoAni shop. A Twitter user has provided a guide for creating an account and making purchases.

https://twitter.com/gokunobaka/status/1151813889362989056

Goku(꒪ཀ꒪)ごみ~歴史戍る! on Twitter: "Here's a crappy picture guide, hope it…

archived 19 Jul 2019 00:57:26 UTC

archive.li

Goku(꒪ཀ꒪)ごみ~歴史戍る! on Twitter: "Thanks for the notification about thei…

archived 19 Jul 2019 00:59:03 UTC

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Who?: 青葉真司 AOBA, Shinji. 41, unemployed. He was not an employee at any point. He had a prior arrest in 2012 for robbing a convenience of 20,000 yen and was in jail for 3.5 years. In 2016 he was released and lived in a rehabilitation facility before moving to a single apartment somewhere in Saitama. In March and August of 2018 police went to his apartment over Noise Complaints. July 14 days prior to the incident he had grabbed and threatened to kill a neighbor after they complained about noise, police were called again. He was spotted the day before the incident within the area of the studio laying on park benches.

How?:He brought 40 liters of Gasoline between 2 tanks, a BBQ lighter, and a bag with knives and a hammer. He used a pushcart to transport everything to a nearby area. Poured the gasoline at the entrance by the spiral staircase, which funneled the fire and smoke upwards at a rapid rate. He himself was caught in the fire. Due to an event being held that day, the security system which used ID cards had been disabled that day for a guest event, allowing him entrance.

Why?: Currently the theories are taken from statements that have been connected to him prior on 2ch/annel, and something he said while arrested.
1; Music/A song he may have claimed ownership too was used in Sound! Euphonium
2; He was a Railfan that had snapped over wrappings on a train "dirtying" it (This is being disputed by news stations)
3; Possibly another undetermined claim of them "ripping him off". Now claimed to be over a novel he had written, which was "plagiarized" by KyoAni. This is the prevailing theory as of yet due to his statements to the police
4; His waifu he shipped with another girl was confirmed to not be gay, got a boyfriend or was interested in one, and is not "pure" anymore

How many people were injured or killed?: 35 Confirmed Dead, 33 others injured, with 8 of them in critical condition. 6 Escaped unharmed.
Police say 74 people were in the building at the time of the attack. Some of which were guests from an outside studio attending an event.

Who died? (this may partly be speculation, its built off of people not being accounted for):
-Takemoto Yasuhiro
-Kawanami Eisaku
-Nishiya Futoshi
-Ishida Naomi
-Tsuda Yukie
-Ono Megumi

Here's a newer article with a more detailed explanation of the situation

KYOTO--Thirty-three people were killed and 17 others remain hospitalized after a suspected arsonist set fire to a three-story animation studio here on July 18, police and fire department officials said.

Some of the 36 people injured in the fire were unconscious, according to Kyoto prefectural police.

The studio, operated by Kyoto Animation Co., is located in a residential area in Kyoto’s Fushimi Ward about 100 meters north of Rokujizo Station on Keihan Electric Railway Co.’s Uji Line. There were about 70 people in the studio at the time.

Several neighbors called the fire department around 10:35 a.m. after they heard an explosion and saw smoke rising from the building. Thirty-five firetrucks were dispatched to the scene.

Police detained a 41-year-old man who is believed to have spread a flammable liquid in the area. Witnesses said he ran into the building screaming, “Die.”

He was injured in the incident and remains unconcious at a hospital.

A 61-year-old woman in the neighborhood said she initially mistook the suspect for a victim of the blaze.

She said she opened the front entrance to her home after the interphone sounded and found a large man kneeling on the ground. Both of his arms had burns and his right leg was on fire. His hair appeared singed.

The woman asked the weakened man if he was all right, but he did not respond. She used a hose to pour water on the man.

As she waited for an ambulance, a number of police officers surrounded the man and peppered him with questions about how he entered the studio and why he set it on fire, she said.

The woman said she could not catch much of what the man said, but she did clearly hear him shout, “They ripped me off.”

A woman in her 20s who works nearby said she went outside after hearing the explosion around 10:30 a.m. When she approached the burning building, she saw a man apparently in his 20s trying to escape along a support on the outer wall on the second story.

The woman and a co-worker brought a ladder to the building to help the man reach the ground.

The head of a local taxi company’s branch near the site said two men ran into the office around 10:40 a.m. and asked that the fire department be called.

One of the men was assisting the other, whose clothes were badly burned. The branch chief tried to support the two while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.

A 22-year-old man said he heard two or three explosions and saw black smoke emerging from a first-floor window. He said flames could be seen in many of the building’s windows.

Kyoto Animation has produced a number of popular TV anime series, such as “K-On!,” “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya” and “Sound! Euphonium.”

Although many major animation companies are located in the Tokyo area, Kyoto Animation has kept its base of operations in the ancient capital since its founding in 1981 because the city has accumulated a long cultural history, company officials said.

Much of the work on the company’s TV programs and movies is done in Kyoto.

Sources-
http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201907190042.html
http://archive.fo/WZ1Ed
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20190719/p2a/00m/0na/003000c
http://archive.fo/zr1gf
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/...-repeatedly-caused-trouble-for-neighbors.html
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20190719_32/
http://archive.fo/qNZ6l

Edit: Cleaned formatting, additional information, trying to identify what is speculated, spelling/grammar.
Edit: Added information, added sources, archived sources.

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

Update:

12 Kyoto News Agencies Request Police to Reveal Names of Remaining 25 KyoAni Fire Victims

Kyoto Animation has asked media to respect privacy of victims, bereaved

www.animenewsnetwork.com

12 Kyoto News Agencies Request Police to Reveal Names of Remaining 25 KyoAni Fire Victims
posted on 2019-08-21 13:45 EDT by Rafael Antonio Pineda




Kyoto Animation has asked media to respect privacy of victims, bereaved

12 news agencies in Kyoto collectively sent a request on Tuesday to the Kyoto Prefectural Police to reveal the names of 25 of the 35 victims in the deadly July 18 arson at Kyoto Animation's Studio 1. The letter was addressed personally to Kyoto Prefectural Police director Hiroto Ueda, and it noted that the current situation was "irregular" compared to similar past incidents.
Kyoto Police released the names of 10 of the victims in the fire, leaving 25 victims unnamed. Normally, authorities reveal the identities of the deceased once they have been identified, but the the Kyoto Police's unit in charge of the investigation of the incident said that it has not revealed the names in consideration of the bereaved families and other related parties.




Kyoto Animation and Daisuke Okeda, the lawyer Kyoto Animation has hired to provide communications to the public about the fire, has asked that the media respect the privacy of the victims and the bereaved. Okeda previously clarified earlier this month that the company is "not asking the police to hold back [the information regarding the names] forever."
Meanwhile, voice actress Megumi Ogata (Evangelion's Shinji Ikari, Sailor Moon's Sailor Uranus) reacted to the request by the Kyoto news agencies on Tuesday, saying that "Among those who know the identities of those whose names haven't been revealed, [the names] are already common knowledge. Even so, it is certainly enough for [us] to sympathize with the bitterness and grief." She added that, "why don't the journalists who write the articles start by writing all their articles with bylines with their names on them?"
In addition, director Junichi Sato (Sailor Moon, Princess Tutu, Aria) commented that, "I think the news agencies also have a responsibility to prevent secondary damage that may arise from their reporting. So shouldn't they show how they're going to prevent that from happening first?"
Japanese police not revealing the names of the deceased in certain incidents is not unprecedented. Authorities similarly held back in revealing the names of the seven victims of a hotel fire in Fukushima city in May 2012, as well as the names of 19 people killed in a mass murder in a care facility in Sagamihara city in July 2016.
On July 18 at around 10:30 a.m. JST, a devastating arson was committed at Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building, killing 35 people and injuring 33 others. 30 fire engines responded to the fire, and firefighters were able to extinguish most of the fire within five hours after it started, but the fire was not fully put out until 6:20 a.m. on July 19. Kyoto Prefectural Police have already apprehended a 41-year-old man who allegedly used gasoline to start the fire, and are investigating the case as arson.

Sankei: Japan to Provide Tax Breaks for Kyoto Animation Donations

Donations to be treated the same as disaster relief, encouraging deductible donations from corporations

www.animenewsnetwork.com

Sankei: Japan to Provide Tax Breaks for Kyoto Animation Donations
posted on 2019-08-22 00:15 EDT by Rafael Antonio Pineda



Donations to be treated the same as disaster relief, encouraging deductible donations from corporations

The Sankei News reported on Thursday that the Japanese government has instituted tax breaks and relief measures for donations to Kyoto Animation, and thus donations to the studio will be treated in the same way as donations to a local government unit for disaster relief.
Previously, donations to Kyoto Animation would have been treated as taxable income for the studio, but the new measure will lessen the tax burden on the corporation to assist in rebuilding and helping the families of the victims.







The new measure also encourages corporations and other organizations to donate, as it will be treated as tax-deductible donations.
According to The Sankei News, it is unusual to treat donations towards relief from a criminal act as the same as diaster relief. The Kyoto Prefectural Agency and National Tax Agency will announce more details on the exact plan for the donations at a later date.
Kyoto Animation opened a bank account to accept donations on July 24, and that account has now received over 2 billion yen (about US$18.78 million). Retail chain Animate collected at least 249,030,484 yen (about US$2.3 million) in its donation campaign for Kyoto Animation that began on July 19. The company will give the funds to families of the deceased and injured victims of the fire, as well as use them for rebuilding.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga previously stated two weeks after the Kyoto Animation fire that a nonpartisan, all-party diet group was considering support measures for the company, with suggestions for tax breaks for donations. The account had raised 274 million yen (about US$2.53 million) from 14,000 sources in its first day, and has received a total of 965.63 million yen (about US$8.87 million) from 47,991 donations as of July 29.
The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper reported on July 29 that total donations to Kyoto Animation have exceeded 1.2 billion yen (about US$11.4 million) as of that time. The total includes Sentai Filmworks' GoFundMe campaignand the Japanese Animation Creators Association's campaign. Sentai Filmworks' GoFundMe campaign raised a total of US$2,368,300. Right Stuf is also collection donations for the company.







On July 18 at around 10:30 a.m. JST, a devastating arson was committed at Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building, killing 35 people and injuring 33 others. 30 fire engines responded to the fire, and firefighters were able to extinguish most of the fire within five hours after it started, but the fire was not fully put out until 6:20 a.m. on July 19. Kyoto Prefectural Police have already apprehended a 41-year-old man who allegedly used gasoline to start the fire, and are investigating the case as arson.

 

[ManateeHunter]

Kyoto police releases the names of all victims of the fire despite protests from the victims' families:

Kyoto police release compete list of names of all victims who died in Kyoto Animation arson attack

Kyoto Animation lawyer expresses unhappiness that many victims' families did not agree with announcement.

www.google.co.jp

Because fuck the victims and their families, right? JFC

 

[ProfDongs]

Seems like a bizarre move. Wonder why they wouldn't only go with the names that the families consented to.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

Kyoto police release compete list of names of all victims who died in Kyoto Animation arson attack

Kyoto Animation lawyer expresses unhappiness that many victims' families did not agree with announcement.

www.google.co.jp

Because fuck the victims and their families, right? JFC

Well that didn't take much prodding. Though it looks like they wanted to go on ahead and release the names anyway, and it was only the National Police Agency that prevented them from doing so.

Lets be honest: if this was America, all of the names would have been known a month ago, as the names of the deceased are usually revealed not long after a national tragedy like this. Deaths are a matter of public record, and keeping the names hidden was just feeding pointless speculation.

 

[ManateeHunter]

Well that didn't take much prodding. Though it looks like they wanted to go on ahead and release the names anyway, and it was only the National Police Agency that prevented them from doing so.

Lets be honest: if this was America, all of the names would have been known a month ago, as the names of the deceased are usually revealed not long after a national tragedy like this. Deaths are a matter of public record, and keeping the names hidden was just feeding pointless speculation.

I mean I get that, but by this point it's just giving ammo for shitty news outlets to masturbate over. Family and friends of the deceased would already know. Why bother releasing the info now?

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

I mean I get that, but by this point it's just giving ammo for shitty news outlets to masturbate over. Family and friends of the deceased would already know. Why bother releasing the info now?

In the same vein, you could say it would be pointless to hide the info: the information would have leaked out or been discovered by intrepid reporters eventually. No way you can hide half an animation studio disappearing into the ether. Releasing it now at least could be seen as bursting a building dam, so to speak, releasing building pressure. By the way, here are the names of the five people whose families did okay for the names to be released, while the other 20 who requested the names remain private have seemingly only had their ages reported so far, though all the names have been released to the media:

- Shouko Terawaki (pen name: Shouko Ikeda), 44 (Character Designer on the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise, Chief Animation Director and Character Designer on Sound! Euphonium, Animation Director on a lot of Kyoto Animation Works)
- Atsushi Ishida, 31 (In-between Animator on most of Kyoto Animation’s projects after K-ON! The Movie)
- Megumi Ohno, 21 (New hire at the studio last year, was trained at Kyoto Animation’s Vocational School)
- Maruko Tatsunari, 31 (Animation Director on Violet Evergarden, Tsrune, Love, Chunibyo and Other Delusions! Take On Me)
- Shiho Morisaki, 27 (Graduate of Kyoto Animation’s Vocational School, Key Animator on Sound! Euphonium season 2, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, Tsurune)

Of those that died that were announced today, 17 were female and only eight were male.

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

Apologies for the double post, but the good old NHK has seemingly released all of the names to the public, the first Japanese news service to do so. No English article has released all of the names yet. Hilariously, Crunchyroll originally linked to the NHK article in their own article, but took the link down when NHK made all the names public. Here is Crunchroll's article with the "update":


https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-n...-attack?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I actually have the unedited article open in my browser, but I don't think I will be able to archive it as they've already changed it. That being said, here is the NHK article in question:

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20190827/k10012050701000.html

Here is the complete least of names released today, as far as I can tell using Google translate, including the five I've already listed in my reply above:

- Atsushi Ishida (31), Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture,
- Naomi Ishida (49) who oversaw color design on "Free!" and "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya."
- Nami Iwasaki (31), Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture,
- Nori Oto (26) from Uji City, Kyoto,
- Megumi Ono (21), Kizugawa City, Kyoto,
- Mr. Yumi Kaneo (22), Fushimi-ku, Kyoto,
- Seiya Kawaguchi (27), Fushimi-ku, Kyoto,
- Kusano Sumire (32), Fushimi-ku, Kyoto,
- Aya Sato (43), Fushimi-ku, Kyoto,
- Kota Sato (28 years old) Sakyo-ku, Kyoto,
- Sana Suzuki (30) in Uji City, Kyoto,
- Mr. Hiroyuki Takahashi (48 years old) Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture,
- Miho Takechi (25), Sakyo-ku, Kyoto,
- Shoko Ikeda (44), real name, Akiko Terawaki, Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture,
- Tomomori Tomoka (22), Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto,
- Maiko Nishikawa (29), Kizugawa City, Kyoto,
- Mr. Takahisa Fujita (27), Sakyo-ku, Kyoto,
- Kana Matsuura (24) in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto,
- Mr. Kojiro Matsumoto (25), Uji City, Kyoto,
- Maruko Tatsunari (31), Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto,
- Atsushi Miyaji (32), Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture,
- Yuko Akemi (29), Ibaraki City, Osaka,
- Murayama Chitose (49), Fushimi-ku, Kyoto,
- Shiho Morisaki (27), Fushimi-ku, Kyoto,
- Sayaka Watanabe (27), Kashihara City, Nara Prefecture,

Most of the those who died (14 total) were only in their 20's, with the next highest group (6 total) being those in their thirties, and only 5 people who died in this group were 40+. Megumi Ono appears to be the youngest of the dead, at only 21.

 

[sasazuka]

Shouko Ikeda was the name I was dreading finding out about the most, since her Haruhi Suzumiya and Euphonium designs are the first thing I think of when I think of how Kyoto Animation characters "look" in general, but I suppose it's better to know that she's gone than to keep on worrying whether or not she was alright.

 

[AnOminous]

Kyoto police releases the names of all victims of the fire despite protests from the victims' families:

Kyoto police release compete list of names of all victims who died in Kyoto Animation arson attack

Kyoto Animation lawyer expresses unhappiness that many victims' families did not agree with announcement.

www.google.co.jp

Because fuck the victims and their families, right? JFC

It's really time to do it. It's a matter of public interest and it's not like anyone is finding out about it for the first time now (by which I mean family who are entitled to be notified first).

 

[The Demon Pimp of Razgriz]

Been a few days, but I've been following the Kick Vic fiasco for the last week and a half or so. Anyway, The Japan Times seems to be the first English language news source to report the names of all of the fallen:

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2...ning-25-victims-kyoto-animation-arson-attack/

 

[ManateeHunter]

Kyoto Animation arson attack victims to be honored in end credits of new film | The Japan Times

“We will be happy if the film is enjoyed for many years to come,” the company said.

www.japantimes.co.jp

Kyoto Animation arson attack victims to be honored in end credits of …

archived 7 Sep 2019 05:38:46 UTC

archive.today

I'm sorry, wasn't the KyoAni lawyer saying shit about being against releasing the names of the victims? Why are they suddenly pulling a 180? Did the Kyoto police releasing the names first ruin the tear-jerking moment you wanted for the end credits?

 

[Shady Attorney]

Kyoto Animation arsonist develops a soft spot for nurse treating him at hospital

People in Japan are concerned for the nurse who’s become the object of a killer’s affections.

It’s been almost six months since 41-year-old Shinji Aoba pushed a handcart with canisters of gasoline into the Kyoto, Fushimi Ward anime studio of Kyoto Animation, dousing the foyer and employees in the area with petrol before igniting it, setting off a blaze that destroyed the three-storey building, killing 36 people and injuring an additional 33.

One of the people who survived the incident was Aoba himself, who, after setting himself on fire while igniting the blaze, attempted to flee the scene but was apprehended by police approximately 100 metres (328 feet) away from the building after being pursued by staff.

However, Aoba is still yet to be formally arrested as police officers are unable to execute the warrant for his arrest until doctors deem him physically fit to withstand incarceration while he awaits trial.

While his survival seems bitterly unfair in light of the many lives taken by him following his heinous crime, Aoba’s recovery is vital to his arrest and prosecution, which will help to deliver justice for the victims and their families. Medical staff say it’s surprising he’s still alive at all, given that the third-degree burns covering 90-percent of his body required a number of self-cultured skin grafts so unprecedented that the procedures used will be presented at a medical conference later this year.

While Aoba is still unable to stand, he is able to sit in a wheelchair and eat and speak with assistance following initial treatment at Kindai University Hospital in Osaka. The extent of his recovery may be due in part to a nurse at the hospital, as a report from weekly magazine Shukan Bunshun reveals that the killer developed a soft spot for one of the nurses tending to him during his physical rehabilitation.

According to the report, Aoba was always in good spirits and displayed a positive attitude towards physical rehabilitation when the nurse was on duty. However, now that Aoba has been moved to an undisclosed hospital in Kyoto, the nurse is no longer tending to him and his demeanour is said to have changed noticeably.

Now he’s said to be grumpy and selfish, reluctant to do any rehabilitation work, saying there’s no need for him to regain his speech as he will be given the death penalty in the end anyway.

People in Japan were quick to express their concern for the nurse who became the object of the killer’s affections, but now that she is no longer in his presence the arsonist’s physical rehabilitation is said to have taken a turn for the worse. This is said to be a blow to the medical team charged with the task of getting him well enough to stand on his own, which will ultimately lead to his arrest and sentencing.

Doctors now fear the arrest may be years away, which would mean a long and tortuous wait for the victims and their families to receive any sense of justice and closure following the heartless attack.

archive

 

[RodgerDodger]

Kyoto Animation arsonist develops a soft spot for nurse treating him at hospital

archive

Do the Japanese not grasp that it is possible to be under arrest and still in the hospital? Most other countries do this all the time. They arrest him in th ehospital and assign an officer to him. In some cases the Judge will come to the Hospital room for arraignment. Outside of being in a Coma there really isn't any reason requiring them to only arrest healthy people.

 

[neverendingmidi]

Kyoto Animation arsonist develops a soft spot for nurse treating him at hospital

archive

Better have this idiot chained at all times, he’d probably torch the hospital if that nurse turns him down.

 

[Pinot Pierrot]

Kyoto Animation arsonist develops a soft spot for nurse treating him at hospital

archive

So now we have "spoiled ass" to file under his list of transgressions.

It is interesting to learn however that the recovery of his melted skin is going to be touted as a new benchmark for skin grafts. It'd be nice if whatever advancements made can be used to help the survivors and future victims of arson, if only to compensate just a small amount of all they've lost.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

So now we have "spoiled ass" to file under his list of transgressions.

It is interesting to learn however that the recovery of his melted skin is going to be touted as a new benchmark for skin grafts. It'd be nice if whatever advancements made can be used to help the survivors and future victims of arson, if only to compensate just a small amount of all they've lost.

I suggest that they will use the arsonist to test the new skin grafts durability against fires and acids.

 

[Tour of Italy]

Kyoto Animation arsonist develops a soft spot for nurse treating him at hospital

archive

I think I saw that anime...

 

[beautiful person]

I suggest that they will use the arsonist to test the new skin grafts durability against fires and acids.

I can very easily see the Japanese doing this.

Edit: to back up my shit-point, I present this.

 

[Bunny Tracks]

Kyoto Animation arsonist develops a soft spot for nurse treating him at hospital

archive

Not being able to keep someone under arrest while they're in the hospitals makes no sense. Even for the fucking Japanese.

I can very easily see the Japanese doing this.

Edit: to back up my shit-point, I present this.

Same. I don't even have to click on the link to know what that probably is. It's something so utterly monstrous, and horrific I can never forget it. And no, it's not Unit 737. It's something that's somehow much, much worse.

 

[Shady Attorney]

Edit: to back up my shit-point, I present this.

This is both fucked up and amazing at the same time. Bless and damn those Japs to HFIL!