The jury trial of 45-year-old Shinji Aobaaccused of murder and arson of a building in the case of the arson attack on studios Kyoto Animation in 2019in which 36 people died, will begin at the Kyoto District Court on September 5.. The main question is expected to be whether and to what extent the defendant is capable of criminal responsibility. Furthermore, given the nature of the case and the number of victims, justice will be forced to make difficult decisions during the long 143-day trial.
According to investigations, Aoba had a history of mental illness. The Kyoto District Prosecutor’s Office spent about six months conducting an expert test to determine whether he had the criminal responsibility capacity to judge right and wrong and control his behavior. The court considered that the defendant could be held criminally responsible and formally charged him in December 2020. At the defense’s request, the court also conducted a mental evaluation, which was carried out twice.
At trial, the prosecution intends to argue that Aoba was fully responsible. The defense, for its part, plans to argue that he lacked the capacity to be responsible or that, if he did, it was limited. If you are found not responsible, you will be found not guilty; if he is found to have limited capacity, his sentence will be reduced.
The number of sessions of the trial is 24, excluding the preliminary days. In criminal trials, the prosecution usually presents its arguments immediately before sentencing, and the defense concludes with closing arguments. This time, however, the “provisional arguments” and the “closing arguments” to determine jurisdiction were set for November 6, mid-trial. Following questioning by the doctor who conducted the psychiatric evaluation at the end of October, both the prosecution and the defense will present their views on the issue of jurisdiction. The judge and jury will then hold a closed-door “interim conference” through the end of November to reach a conclusion as to whether and to what extent the defendant is capable of accountability. This finding, which will have a significant impact on the guilty or not guilty judgment and sentencing decision, will be revealed for the first time at sentencing.
In addition, a total of nine defense question sessions are scheduled for the September-October trial. Aoba admitted to the murder even before his arrest and stated that Kyoto Animation had stolen his novels, and claimed that several of KyoAni’s works were plagiarized from his own works, so it will be interesting to see how he explains his motives and circumstances. Family members of the victims will also have the opportunity to question the accused directly through the victim participation system.
It is expected that on December 7 the final arguments of the prosecution and the request for sentence will take place, as well as the final arguments of the defense, and that the trial will conclude. The sentence will be handed down on January 25, 2024. According to the indictment, around 10:30 a.m. on July 18, 2019, Aoba doused the first building of Kyoto Animation Studios with gasoline and set it on fire. He is accused of having killed 36 of the directors and employees present and of having seriously injured 32 others.
Of course, the possibility that the person responsible is acquitted of criminal responsibility has attracted comments in opinion forums in Japan:
- «You committed a crime because you could not control your behavior. Can that really work as a justification?».
- «Burned 36 of the best animation workers in Japan».
- «If they let him go without charge, someone else will kill him.».
- «If he is declared not responsible, what will he do with his life? Will he spend the rest of his life in a mental institution?».
- «The simple fact that you are found to have limited reasoning capacity will allow you to avoid the death penalty».
- «I guess we can’t expect him to be sentenced to death, too bad».
- «At the end of the day, with all the time they’ve taken, it’s very likely that they’ll find you “not guilty at all” and give you a reduced sentence.».
- The defense has a tough job ahead of it, if the guy gets even a reduced sentence, his lawyer will become infamous among the populace.».
- «It would be ironic if he was declared innocent after all that he caused, can you imagine the chaos that such a decision could cause?».
Fountain: otakomu
