On March 24, a man was arrested on suspicion of setting fire to a building in the city of Tokushima, where a Japanese idol group concert was taking place. On Friday, investigators revealed that the man told them he was aiming to imitate the deadly Kyoto animation arson attack that occurred in 2019.
The suspect, Shigeru Okada, an unemployed 38-year-old resident of Tokushima Prefecture, was accused of trespassing on the site of the Acty Annex building on March 14, shortly after a local idol group had started performing at a bar on the top floor of the four-story building.
▼ The latest image of Acty Annex on Google Maps dates back to April 2019, before the recent blaze.
According to police, the fire broke out just after the performance had started at 1 p.m., threatening the lives of approximately 70 people who were on the premises, including customers and the five members of the idol group, who were all able to evacuate safely outside. The manager of the bar, who is in his 50s, was able to extinguish the fire, suffering burns to his neck in the process.
At the scene of the incident, police found a knife and a blue-colored metal fuel canister with remnants of gasoline inside. Gasoline appeared to have been deliberately spilled in the hall outside the elevator on the third floor, leading investigators to believe it was an arson attack.
Footage from surveillance cameras, and a dashboard camera from a nearby taxi, led investigators to Okada, who was arrested on suspicion of arson of an inhabited building.
During questioning, Okada admitted to the charges, saying he lit the fire in the elevator hall on the third story of the building, burning the floor and walls. He said he was “imitating the Kyoto Animation incident”, buying gasoline before arriving at the scene, in the same way arsonist Shinji Aoba had before the blaze in Kyoto that killed 36 people.
According to investigators, Okada purchased approximately 14 liters of gasoline from a self-service gas station within the prefecture a few hours before the incident.
Following the 2019 arson attack, the national Fire and Disaster Management Agency pushed through new legislation from Feb 1, 2020 that requires customers purchasing gasoline in containers to declare their purpose for the gas and show a valid ID.
While it’s unclear whether Okada was asked to provide his ID and a reason for purchasing gasoline by staff at the gas station, this new incident shows that the government may need to tighten these laws to prevent more copycat attacks from occurring.
While Aoba’s attack was motivated by anger at the animation company for a scene that he believes was stolen from him, investigators are yet to understand the motivation behind Okada’s actions.
Sources: Tokyo Shimbun via Jin
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-- Kyoto Animation arson attack prompts call for stricter gas sale regulations in Kyoto
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-- Kyoto Animation arsonist says which scene he feels copied his work and incited attack
- External Link
- https://soranews24.com/2021/04/09/arsonist-at-idol-concert-says-he-was-imitating-the-kyoto-animation-arson-attack/
19 Comments
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Yubaru
Double face palm! I mean really, just providing ID is NOT going to stop a copycat! Once again the collective mentality that people are not smart enough to create or procure a fake ID. Or that the person even cares if they get caught or not.
Idiotic
Hiro
Great deed of the manager to extinquish the fire. Hope he recover.
Paul
I got a permit to buy petrol when I went to buy petrol for my snow blower first time this year. But after that, even when I go to a different petrol station, I have not been asked to show it...
Fighto!
Lock this violderanged mental case away
Fighto!
Like this violent and deranged mental case away!
Goodlucktoyou
Don’t publicize this story!
Legrande
Copy cat crimes abound in Japan.
Don't linger under the illusion that young men are not influenced by the visual media they watch.
u_s__reamer
Proof again how susceptible to derangement is the human brain. And perhaps he also harbored a suicidal wish to be ceremoniously terminated with a hempen necktie.
InspectorGadget
Well. . . . . . clearly all the rules that the government put in place requiring ID and stated purpose for fuel in containers sold by gasoline stands is working incredibly effectively.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/27/national/japan-tighten-gasoline-sale-rules-kyoto-arson-attack/
BertieWooster
"investigators are yet to understand the motivation behind Okada’s actions."
What's to understand?
CDNinJapan
Maybe the third times a charm?
WA4TKG
Why not ?
”Just to see what it was Like”
Zaphod
That homicidal nutcase has imitators? OK, I hope the government imitates the punishment of the original perp.
Do the hustle
So, will he be charged with attempted murder?
Sven Asai
btw, a very cute idol group... considering that alone, he should be punished 10-fold for that insane murder attempt.
Captain Obvious
Nearly there!
KansaiTen
He could be one of those Incel types who express anger at their own inferiorities, taking it out violently on women, in this case idols and their male fans (Chads).