A suspected arson attack at the No. 1 Studio building of animation production company Kyoto Animation on Thursday has left at least 33 people dead and 36 more injured. It is Japan's deadliest arson incident since 1989 and its deadliest fire incident since 2001, according to police. A 41-year-old man, who is among the injured, has been identified as a suspect.

According to a Thursday evening incident report by the Fire and Disaster Management Agency, two 20-liter containers of gasoline were found outside on the street near the site of the fire. Police say the suspect admitted to lighting gasoline as he was transported away from the scene. He is pending questioning while being treated at the hospital. Japanese news media report witnesses hearing the man say "Go die!" while setting the building lobby on fire.

Reports say about 70 people were inside the three-story building when the fire began at approximately 10:35 a.m. local time. Local fire agencies dispatched 30 vehicles to the scene, and the blaze was finally put out nearly five hours later. On Thursday evening, fire officials said two of the dead were found on the first floor, 11 on the second floor, and 20 in the staircase leading from the third floor to the rooftop. Firefighters found the rooftop door closed, but it was not locked. Fire and rescue activities have since ended, and no one is left inside the building.

Authorities have not released the names of victims. Among the dead, 12 were men, 20 were women, and one was of unconfirmed gender. As news of the fire spread around the world on Thursday, anime music producer Suguru Yamaguchi (Tamako Market and Tamako Love Story) revealed on Twitter that he has confirmed the safety of director Naoko Yamada.

A former Kyoto Animation employee spoke with public broadcaster NHK and said the No. 1 Studio largely employed animators involved in creating key animation and in-between animation frames. Most of the staff were women, with 10 to 20 people working on each floor. The studio building, which was badly damaged in the fire, was last inspected in October and found to be in compliance with code.

Kyoto Animation employs approximately 160 people. Its No. 1 Studio is located in Fushimi Ward in Kyoto and began operating in 2008. The company also operates a separate head office, a No. 2 Studio building, a merchandise store, and a No. 5 Studio building in the city of Uji. No incidents have been reported in any of the company's other sites.

Source: NHK News 1, NHK News 2, The Mainichi (photo)


Update July 19
The death toll in Thursday's arson fire at the No. 1 Studio building of Kyoto Animation has risen to 34. Kyoto Prefectural Police announced on Friday evening that a man being treated in the hospital has died of his injuries.

Source: NHK News


Update July 27
Kyoto Prefectural Police announced on Saturday, July 27, that a second man being treated in the hospital for injuries sustained in the fire has died. The death toll now stands at 35.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun

This news has been updated with the final report of casualties. An archive of the original story is below.