Police still unable to make formal arrest, however.
In addition to the 35 employees of Kyoto Animation who were killed in the arson attack on the company’s Fushimi studio on July 18, dozens were injured in the fire. However, the list of those requiring immediate medical treatment included Shinji Aoba, who was taken into custody by police near the scene of the crime while saying “They stole my novel,” and “I spread the gasoline, and lit it with a lighter.”
The 41-year-old Aoba sustained severe burns to his entire body, and has remained hospitalized since the day of the attack. However, his medical recovery is progressing, and doctors have now upgraded his status, saying that his life is no longer in jeopardy.
However, Aoba is reportedly still unable to verbally communicate, and is yet to be formally placed under arrest, despite a warrant having been issued several weeks ago. In order for the warrant to be executed, doctors must judge that Aoba will be able to withstand the conditions at a criminal detention facility, and it is expected to still be some time before his recovery reaches that stage.
As such, it’s likely to be a long wait until Aoba is held accountable for his actions. In the meantime, though, at least the victims of the attack are being honored by their surviving coworkers as part of Kyoto Animation’s first major anime release since the attack.
Source: FNN Prime via Yahoo! Japan News via Jin
Top image: Wikipedia/L26
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