The man suspected of the arson attack on Kyoto Animation in Japan last July has been arrested after being sufficiently recovered from his burn injuries to face scrutiny.
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The blaze at the animation production studio killed 36 people and injured another 33.
Shinji Aoba was found near the scene and apparently admitted to setting the fire. "There is no mistake," the police quoted him as saying. Aoba is said to have accused the studio of stealing his ideas.
In a life-threatening condition for months, Aoba received multiple skin grafts at a hospital in Osaka. He was later sent to a hospital in nearby Kyoto in November for rehabilitation.
He has now been taken to a Kyoto police station for interrogation.
Police in Saitama, near Tokyo, uncovered DVDs from Kyoto Animation when they raided Aoba's home. They have also investigated Aoba as the source of anonymous threatening messages made against the company in 2018. The sender reportedly used the Tor identity-disguising software.
Most of the victims of the fire were women in their twenties and thirties. Kyoto Animation, familiarly known as KyoAni, was famed as a female-friendly workplace in a mostly male-dominated industry.
A crowdfunding campaign was launched by US animation distributor Sentai Filmworks and quickly raised over $2 million to help the survivors and the families of the victims.
Among the contributors was software giant Adobe, which anonymously donated $50,000. The company later confirmed the contribution and said: "Kyoto Animation is a centre of the creative community, not only in Japan, but worldwide."
Australian Associated Press
