A Japanese judge sentenced to death a man who killed 36 people in an arson attack at an anime studio in Kyoto in 2019, one of the country’s deadliest attacks in decades, after he was found guilty of murder on Thursday. Shinji Aoba, the defendant, was charged with murder in 2020, a year after setting fire to the studio of Kyoto Animation. Mr. Aoba had a history of mental illness. In July 2019, Mr. Aoba barged into the studio with gasoline, sprayed it with force and set it on fire with a gas lighter, the judge said Thursday, according to local reports. Mr. Aoba did so, the judge added, because of a grudge — he was convinced that the studio had stolen a novel from him.

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Persons: Shinji Aoba, Aoba, Aoba barged Organizations: Kyoto Animation, Associated Press Locations: Kyoto