Aoba Shinji is charged with homicide and arson after dousing the studio with gasoline and beginning a hearth in July 2019. The assault on the studio within the metropolis of Kyoto left 32 others injured.
The trial centered on whether or not the defendant might be deemed mentally competent in an effort to take duty for the crime.
Prosecutors on Thursday described the assault as an act of revenge stemming from a misdirected grudge. They mentioned it stands out in Japan’s felony historical past when it comes to the variety of victims.
They mentioned the defendant deliberate the assault with a agency intention to kill, and was totally conscious of the risks of setting hearth to gasoline.
The prosecutors mentioned because the victims tried to flee they had been chased by rapidly-moving smoke and flames, and that their hellish terror and remorse was past creativeness.
They argued that the delusion that Kyoto Animation stole Aoba’s work was a motive, however solely partly, and doesn’t exempt him from the demise penalty.
The prosecutors famous that the struggling and unhappiness of bereaved households and survivors are far too deep, and so they have a fierce need for the defendant to be punished.
They mentioned the defendant may be held totally accountable for what he did, and demanded that he be sentenced to demise.
The protection legal professionals argued that Aoba suffered from a severe delusional dysfunction on the time of the assault, and lacked the psychological functionality to differentiate between proper and flawed. They are anticipated to plead not responsible.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 25.