KyoAni Arson Victims Mourned 1 Year On

Kyoto, July 18 (Jiji Press)--A ceremony was held on Saturday to mourn the 36 victims of an arson attack on Kyoto Animation Co.'s No. 1 studio in the western Japan city of Kyoto a year ago. The ceremony, which started at 10:30 a.m. (1:30 a.m. GMT) at the site of the studio in Fushimi Ward, was attended by 85 people from 30 bereaved families and nine people related to the famed anime company, better known as KyoAni, including President Hideaki Hatta. "I want to see you every day, I miss you every day, so I look for you. We'll never erase the proof of the lives of all of you," the wife of Futoshi Nishiya, who lost his life in the attack at the age of 37, said in a message. Nishiya designed characters of "A Silent Voice," a movie, and other KyoAni works. All participants offered a minute of silence and laid flowers to the victims. The arson "suddenly deprived talented creators from all over the country of their future," Hatta said. "We remain in grief one year on." Expressing his sympathy to the victims and bereaved relatives, Hatta pledged that his company will keep moving on, remembering that "we have worked with our colleagues" to create anime works. "Our hearts are always with our fellow creators." At a press conference in Kyoto later on Saturday, Hatta vowed to realize KyoAni's reconstruction, saying: "We'll work hard to make anime works that can help people nurture their dreams and hopes. We'll move forward even by an inch." To prevent infection with the novel coronavirus, KyoAni had called on fans to refrain from coming to the studio site to mourn the victims on the first anniversary of the incident and did not set up a flower altar. Still, some people showed up around the site. "I wanted to pray for them at the site," a 46-year-old male company employee from the city of Minoo, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, said. "I still cannot sort out my feelings at all." "KyoAni works encouraged me," the man said, citing his experience of being bullied at school. "I want KyoAni to continue creating works that can inspire many people." To coincide with the ceremony, KyoAni released a video for paying tribute to the victims on its official YouTube channel. The seven-and-a-half-minute footage, in which messages from the company and related people were shown, was viewed by over 26,000 people in real time. Around 10:30 a.m. on July 18, 2019, Shinji Aoba, the 42-year-old suspect, released gasoline at the No. 1 studio and set it alight. The arson killed 36 people and injured 33 others. Aoba himself suffered severe burns and was hospitalized for about 10 months. He was arrested by the Kyoto prefectural police department on May 27 this year. Aoba, who is still bedridden, has told the police that he committed the act as KyoAni stole his novels. His memory of the incident appears to be fading somewhat, according to investigative sources. KyoAni has categorically denied the plagiarism. On Saturday, some fans visited sites related to KyoAni works in the Kansai western region to remember the victims. A 54-year-old male corporate worker from the western city of Hiroshima visited the Demachimasugata shopping street in Kyoto, which is featured in "Tamako Market," a KyoAni work. "I'll be waiting forever," he wrote in a notebook for fans at the Sagaki fish store in the shopping street. "I'm looking forward to watching new KyoAni works. There is no need to rush." A 48-year-old company employee of Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, visited Coffee-ya Dream in the city, believed to be the model of a cafe appearing in another KyoAni work "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya," after offering a prayer for the arson victims at his house. "I prayed for them so that their souls will be saved," said the man, a long-time KyoAni fan. END