Japan: Man sentenced to death for Japan anime fire which killed 36

A Japanese man has been sentenced to death for an arson attack at a Kyoto animation studio in 2019 which killed 36 people and injured dozens more. The incident, one of Japan's deadliest in recent decades, killed mostly young artists and shocked the anime world. Shinji Aoba, 45, pleaded guilty to the attack but his lawyers had sought a lighter sentence, arguing grounds of "mental incompetence". Judges rejected this however, ruling Aobo knew what he was doing. "I have determined that the defendant was not mentally insane or weak at the time of the crime," Chief Judge Masuda said.

tips

sentence 句子；宣判

arson 纵火

plead 辩护；恳求

guilty 犯罪的（guilt 罪）

mental 精神病的

rule 尺子；规定；裁决

defendant 被告

defend 防护；辩护

insane 精神失常