The perpetrator, a 41-year-old man named Shinji Aoba, who had traveled from across the country only to attack the studio, was detained before the fire died down and witnesses report that he himself told police: "I I spread the gasoline everywhere in the studio, and then I lit it with a lighter. " And yet, more than ten months after the incident, Aoba has not been arrested.
The reason is because Aoba suffered severe burns to his body during the attack, and Japan's legal system requires him to be healthy enough to survive incarceration while awaiting trial. So, for almost a year, Aoba has been receiving medical attention while staying hospitalized, eventually regaining his ability to speak. However, the Kyoto Prefecture Police reported that Aoba will be formally arrested on May 27.
This could have happened before, but there were complications with two potential incarceration sites. While his medical condition is not critical, researchers report that the threat of contracting an infection should be avoided at all costs in the case of Aoba. Although the fire was started in Kyoto Prefecture, and Aoba was taken into custody by officials from that prefecture, the Kyoto Detention Center was in very poor condition to guarantee Aoba's health. The next candidate was the Osaka Detention Center, the prefecture that borders Kyoto in the south, but before preparations could begin for the transfer of Aoba, staff members from that place were diagnosed with COVID-19, so that the transfer was canceled.
However, the Osaka Detention Center finally resolved their COVID-19 cases, clearing the way for the police to finally arrest Aoba. Meanwhile, the remains of the Kyoto Animation studio have already been demolished, and it is hoped that this development will at least provide some relief for those who want justice and this case will eventually be closed.
© Yahoo! News Japan
