News

Kyoto Animation President Hatta Considers Demolishing 1st Studio Building, Building Public Park With Monument

Editor's Note: ANN's news team have decided not to publish the name of the suspect accused of arson, in order to focus our reporting on the victims. In addition, while one of the sources for this article gives the name of a victim (whose status is unknown), ANN's news team have chosen not to report on that name. We will instead wait until an official list of victims has been released.

In an interview for the mass media on Saturday, Kyoto Animation president Hideaki Hatta stated that after Thursday's deadly fire at Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building, he is considering demolishing the building and creating a public park at the spot of the fire that will include a monument. He added, "when I consider the staff and the people in this neighborhood, there are people who don't want to see such a gruesome sight." Hatta is also considering hosting a memorial ceremony for the victims.

He also told the press that all the messages of support from around the world are "becoming our emotional support."

Hatta also told the press on Saturday that of the 34 injured victims, one victim had to have their legs amputated.

In addition, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a statement that confirmed that one of the injured is a South Korean citizen.

NHK reported on Saturday through an interview with a relative of a victim that the relative was told on Friday that police will need to conduct DNA testing to identify some of the victims, and that testing will take up to a week.

Background

On Thursday at around 10:30 a.m. JST, a devastating fire broke out at Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building, killing 34 people and injuring 34 others. 30 fire engines responded to the fire, and firefighters were able to extinguish the fire within five hours after it started, but the fire was not fully put out until 6:20 a.m. on Friday.

Of those confirmed dead after being located at the studio, firefighters found two people on the first floor, 11 people on the second floor, one person in a stairwell between the second and third floors, and 19 people on the stairwell between the third floor and the rooftop. Of those killed, police have reported that 20 were women and 13 were men (the gender of one victim is unknown).

Kyoto Prefectural Police have already apprehended a 41-year-old man who allegedly used gasoline to start the fire, and are investigating the case as arson. The suspect is among those injured (although he is separate from the above-mentioned injured people). The suspect was taken to another hospital via helicopter on Saturday. Police have yet to fully arrest or interrogate the suspect, as he is still injured, and as such have not released an official statement on the suspect's motive. Police will later interrogate the subject to obtain his motive for the alleged attack.

The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper stated that according to investigative sources, the suspect told police that he started the fire because he alleges Kyoto Animation "stole his novel." Hatta stated on Saturday that he has never heard the suspect's name before, and no one by the suspect's name has submitted a novel to the company. Kyoto Animation solicits drafts of novels as part of its Kyoto Animation Awards program.

Aside from a fire in a commercial building that killed 44 people in 2001 (where arson was suspected), the incident is the worst mass murder in Japan's post-World War II history.

Several organizations, such as Sentai Filmworks, Crunchyroll, the Animate retail chain, the city of Uji, and others are collecting donations or messages of support to support the company and the victims.

Kyoto Animation

Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building is located near Rokujizō Station in Uji City in Kyoto. Most of the studio's main line production takes place inside the building. The company also has a head office, a 2nd Studio building, a Tokyo Office, and the Animation DO building in other locations.

Yoko Hatta founded the company as Kyoto Anime Studio in 1981, with her husband Hideaki Hatta as the president. The company has since worked on a number of notable anime productions, but is perhaps best known initially for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-ON!, Lucky Star, and Clannad, and later for such works as Free!, Sound! Euphonium, A Silent Voice, Violet Evergarden, and Liz and the Blue Bird.

At the time of the fire, the company's current announced projects were: a new anime project for Sound! Euphonium, a new Violet Evergarden episode (slated for September) and film (slated for January 10, 2020), an all-new Free! film (slated for summer 2020), a second season for Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, an adaptation of Hiro Yuki's 20 Seiki Denki Mokuroku novel, and the Baja no Studio: Baja no Mita Umi anime short.

Sources: NHK (link 2), Yomiuri Shimbun (link 2)