Kyoto Animation Co. held a memorial on Thursday to honor the 36 victims of the 2019 arson attack on one of its facilities as the suspected culprit's trial continues at a high court after the defense appealed his death sentence.
The ceremony was held at the site in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward where the studio once stood, with the company urging fans to refrain from coming to the venue to keep the solemn event private.
There were 70 workers inside the company's No. 1 Studio when Shinji Aoba allegedly started the fire using gasoline on July 18, 2019. Aside from those killed, 32 others suffered injuries of various degrees.
The company, often called KyoAni, is known internationally for producing popular animations, including "K-On!" and "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya."
"Even after five years, the feeling of loss for our dear colleagues remains in our hearts," an employee said in a message of condolence at the event joined by around 140 people, including employees and the bereaved families.
"We felt great regret and resentment over the loss of our colleagues," Kyoto Animation President Hideaki Hatta said in his speech, adding that staff had worked tirelessly to protect the company and continue the victims' legacies.
Citing the names of works produced after the incident, Hatta said, "We will continue to create and deliver works by cherishing everyone's ambitions."
The messages were released by the company as the memorial was not open to the media.
Kyoto Animation plans to set up a cenotaph carrying the names of the victims at the site where the No. 1 Studio once stood, according to a lawyer representing the company. It also has a plan to rebuild a facility for animation production, the lawyer said.
The memorial event came after a monument for remembering the incident was completed earlier this month at a park in Uji in Kyoto, where the company's headquarters is located.
The monument, about three meters in height, features 36 birds soaring into the sky, representing each victim, and was designed by the company's creators.
Aoba, 46, who was sentenced to death in January at the Kyoto District Court for the attack, has since appealed the ruling at the Osaka High Court.
Aoba was apprehended at the scene of the attack but was not arrested by police until May 2020 after receiving treatment for severe burns.
Having said his attack was motivated by the belief that Kyoto Animation had plagiarized a novel he had entered into a contest run by the firm, Aoba underwent six months of psychiatric examinations before prosecutors decided in December 2020 that he could be held criminally responsible.
