KYOTO: The suspect of the high-profile deadly arson attack on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio last year reiterated his plagiarism claims in talking about his motives behind the attack immediately after his arrest on Wednesday, it was learned Friday.

According to investigative sources, Shinji Aoba, 42, insisted that he lit the fire because his novel was stolen by the anime house, known by fans as KyoAni.

He had made similar statements right after the arson incident on July 18 last year and during voluntary questioning conducted last November while he was hospitalized for severe burns all over his body from the attack.

The suspect also told investigators after his arrest that he targeted the No. 1 studio of KyoAni because many people were working there, the sources said.

The Kyoto prefectural police believe he harbored strong resentment toward KyoAni, and are rushing to fully uncover his motives for causing the incident.

According to the anime production company, the suspect had submitted several stories such as those set in schools for its novel competitions prior to the arson attack. However, the works were rejected before the stories were examined due to formatting defects.

KyoAni has flatly denied plagiarizing Aoba's works, saying there was no way for animes produced by the company to have similarities to Aoba's novels.

Aoba was arrested on charges of setting fire to the No. 1 studio of the anime production company in the western Japan city of Kyoto and murdering 36 people.

The arrest came after authorities judged that he has recovered enough through his 10-month hospitalization to be put into custody.

The suspect has admitted to the charges, saying he thought he could kill a lot of people with the use of gasoline in the arson attack.

JIJI Press