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Death sentence for man convicted of fatal Japanese anime studio fire

36 people died after Shinji Aoba set Kyoto Animation’s No. 1 studio ablaze in 2019
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Police officers gather outside the Kyoto District Court in Kyoto, western Japan, Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, ahead of the sentencing hearing for Shinji Aoba, who has confessed to a deadly arson attack in July 2019 on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio. Aoba was convicted of murder and other crimes Thursday for carrying out the shocking arson attack on the anime studio that killed 36 people and drew an outpouring of grief from anime fans worldwide. (Miki Matsuzaki/Kyodo News via AP)

A Japanese court sentenced a man to death after finding him guilty of murder and other crimes Thursday for carrying out an arson attack on an anime studio in Kyoto that killed 36 people.

The Kyoto District Court said it found the defendant, Shinji Aoba, mentally capable to face punishment for his crimes and announced the sentence of capital punishment after a recess in a two-part session on Thursday.

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