Japanese court sentences man to death over fatal 2019 arson

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – A Japanese court on Thursday sentenced to death a man over fatal 2019 Kyoto Animation arson, local media reported.

The court announced its verdict against Shinji Aoba, the man responsible for a 2019 arson attack at a Kyoto Animation Co. studio in western Japan that killed 36 people, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

Aoba, 45, had admitted to lighting the blaze at the film production company’s premises that killed three dozen people and wounded 32 others.

The trial began last year more than four years following the incident as Aoba sustained life-threatening burns and needed to undergo intense treatment and rehabilitation, according to the report.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid