TOKYO: Japanese police yesterday raided the home of the main suspect in a deadly arson attack that killed 34 people at an anime firm in Kyoto, media reports said.
The suspect, identified publicly by police in a rare move as Shinji Aoba, reportedly remains in hospital in serious condition with burns from the blaze he is alleged to have started.
The horrifying inferno on July 18 killed 34 people, most of them believed to be in their 20s and 30s, and police have said the case is being treated as arson and murder.
Yesterday, public broadcaster NHK said Kyoto police raided Aoba’s apartment in Saitama north of Tokyo, with footage showing a handful of police officers wearing white gloves arriving at the flat with large plastic boxes.
Despite the suspect’s claim that Kyoto Animation, the company targeted, stole an idea from his novel, no link between the firm and Aoba has been found, local media said. – AFP
