Japan: Anime Studio Arsonist Gets Death Sentence for Killing 36
The Facts
A court in Japan has sentenced Shinji Aoba, 45, to death for an arson attack on the anime studio Kyoto Animation in 2019 that killed 36 people and injured 32 others.
The Kyoto District Court on Thursday said Aoba was "neither insane nor suffering diminished mental capacity at the time of the crime."
The Spin
Narrative A
Both violent crimes and capital punishment are rare in Japan. For the first time in three years, the country had no executions in 2023. As long as atrocious, unprecedented, and audacious offenses — like Aoba's — continue, Japan should wisely and judiciously use the punishment as an effective form of deterrent.
Narrative B
There's no doubt that Aoba's grave act of arson and mass murder has scarred the families of victims forever. However, the death penalty won't bring the deceased back. It's imperative that Japan abolish capital punishment, as a matter of human rights and humanitarian principles.