Japanese media is speculating that revenge was the motivation for the arson attack on Kyoto Animation which killed 33 people on Thursday.
Investigative sources quoted by Jiji Press on Friday said that the man in custody had a grudge against the studio. “Since [the studio] stole my novel, I poured out the liquid and set it ablaze,” said the man.
Police and fire departments in the city said, 20 hours after the attack, that the blaze is fully extinguished and no more bodies remain to be found. Now they are hunting for explanations.
However, they have not yet formally begun questioning the 41-year old man who was arrested barely 100 yards from the studio. His injuries to limbs and chest are too severe. Police plan to question him once he recovers.
While he has not been named, multiple local sources report that the man has never worked for the company.
Some local newspapers including the Kyoto Shimbun and the Asahi Shimbun, report witnesses to the man’s arrest hearing him say: “They stole my ideas,” and “they copied my novel.” Other unconfirmed reports say that, in custody, he said: “they ripped me off”.
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Since its founding in 1981, Kyoto Animation has regularly adapted novels into anime series. In 2006, the studio produced the 14-episode series “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” which was based on light novels by Nagaru Tanigawa. Earlier this year, “Tsurune” concluded its 13-episode run on public broadcaster NHK. The series was adapted from a novel series by Kotoko Ayano.
Japanese news reports say that a man is known to have bought 40 litres (nearly 9 U.S. gallons) of gasoline at a nearby filling station 30 minutes prior to the fire. At the crime scene authorities found two 20-litre fuel cans, five knives and a hammer, but have not yet definitively shown them to belong to the suspect.
Kyoto Animation president Hideaki Hatta told reporters on Thursday that the company has received several threatening emails that mentioned ”death and murder” in the past. “It is truly deplorable, and I am heartbroken,” Hatta said. “What would make [someone] resort to such violence?”