The Japanese portal Livedoor News shared an article describing the first statements in the initial trial of Shinji Aoba , responsible for the arson attack on the Kyoto Animation studios in July 2019. In his initial responses, although Aoba accepted what he did, he also mentioned that he did not he thought that he would take so many lives with his actions.
« “ There is no doubt that I did what I did. At the time of the incident I thought I had no choice but to do it, but I didn't expect so many people to die, and now I think I went too far ," Shinji Aoba told the court. The first trial was held in the largest room of the Kyoto District Court on September 5 ».
" When defendant Shinji Aoba, 45, was asked whether he accepted or denied the charges against him, he replied in a muffled voice. In fact, he didn't say a word of apology until the very end, as a large number of heartbroken family members watched. Aoba appeared in court at about 10:33 a.m. in a special high-backed wheelchair. He was wearing a navy blue sweater, had short hair and was wearing a face mask, but his right cheek was red and there were sores on his neck ."
« When the prosecutor read the indictment and showed him a list with the names of the 36 victims, he looked down and seemed to agree. When the judge asked him if he agreed or disagreed, he read a written statement he had prepared and said, "There is no mistake." He then signed it with his reddened right hand, as if she were crippled ».
« As the prosecutor and defense attorney read his opening statement, he just looked straight ahead while shaking his head and not looking around. Instead, when the prosecutor showed drawings and videos of the damage and other evidence during the examination of the evidence, he leaned into the monitor and stared wide-eyed. He nodded in agreement when the judge asked him to appear again the next day. After the closure of the first trial, he seemed to have recovered and asked his defense attorney for advice ».
« A total of about 50 people, including relatives and victims, were present at the hearing, carrying pens and notebooks and listening attentively. Bereaved family members sat behind the prosecutor's seat, as well as nearly half of the 88 seats available to the public. For security reasons, eight acrylic panels were placed between the witness stand and the seats for the public and the prosecution ».
On the other hand, the Sankei News outlet expanded on this initial statement, noting that Shinji Aoba had apparently entered into an "alleged romantic relationship" with an editor at Kyoto Animation: " After starting to write his novel, he began to mistakenly believe that he was communicating with a well-known editor and director of Kyoto Animation on the 2chan message board. Through messages, the defendant was praised by the alleged editor and had illusions that he was in a romantic relationship with her. After robbing a store in 2012 and being sentenced to three years and six months in prison, he believed that the editor was making fun of him because of his past From him ».
Fuente: Livedoor News
