An alleged arson attack on a respected Japanese animation studio left a shocked nation in mourning, as investigators looked to identify victims and determine a possible motive in one of the deadliest acts of violence in Japan’s modern history.

At least 33 people — many of them young — were killed a day earlier when a man appeared to douse flammable liquid through the Kyoto Animation Co. studio and set it alight, triggering an inferno, officials said. Some 36 others were injured, about 10 critically.

The blaze at the production house struck at a pillar of Japan’s anime industry, an obsession in the country. Kyoto Animation, known as KyoAni, had produced hits such as “Lucky Star,” “K-On!” and “Haruhi Suzumiya,” winning worldwide acclaim for its skilled drawings.

Outside the charred shell of the company’s workspace in Kyoto’s outskirts on Friday, crowds of well-wishers left flowers and messages of support for the victims. Many bowed, or knelt down and prayed as they offered their respects.

Police investigators, meanwhile, scoured the three-story building. Their probe covers suspected arson, murder and attempted murder, the Kyodo news agency reported.

A 41-year-old male suspect remained in police custody in the hospital after suffering burns all over his body, said Hiroyuki Sakai, deputy police chief in Fushimi, Kyoto. He said police would investigate the man’s circumstances once he had recovered sufficiently.

A woman who saw police detain the man a day earlier told reporters that he “seemed to be discontented, he seemed to get angry, shouting something about how he had been plagiarized,” according to Reuters.

The suspect had no connection with Kyoto Animation and was thought to have been living near Tokyo, public broadcaster NHK said.

[Suspected arson attack on Japanese animation studio leaves more than 30 dead]

Hideaki Hatta, a co-founder and president of Kyoto Animation, said Thursday that the studio had been receiving threats, including emails threatening murder. He said the attack had “broken our hearts.”

Witnesses said they heard a man yell, “Die!” at startled employees just before the building erupted in flames.

The tragedy was the worst mass killing in Japan since 2001, when 44 people died in a suspected arson attack on a gambling parlor in Tokyo.

“We are at a loss to imagine what drove him to commit such an act of extreme violence, if he was the arsonist,” the Asahi Shimbun newspaper said in a commentary on Friday.

Violent crime is unusual in Japan. On social media, many people offered condolences and expressed shock at the loss of life. Some posted creative tributes under the hashtag #PrayForKyoani.

Messages of sympathy and supported flowed from around the world following the disaster.

A GoFundMe page set up by Sentai Filmworks, a Texas-based animation company, had raised $1.3 million for victims and their families by Friday afternoon in Japan.

Pixomondo, another visual-effects company, offered its support. The attack on Kyoto Animation was “an assault on art itself,” CEO Jonny Slow said in a statement.

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news </s> At least 12 people were feared dead after a suspected arsonist barged into an animation production studio in Japan’s city of Kyoto and started a fire in the early hours of Thursday. Around 35 people were injured, AP reported. Some reports, however, claimed as many as 24 people had died.

The fire erupted in the three-storey building of Kyoto Animation after the suspect spread an unidentified liquid to fuel the fire, Kyoto prefectural police and the fire department said. Fire department officer Satoshi Fujiwara said that 12 people, found on the building’s first and second floors, were presumably dead.

The injured along with the suspect, a 41-year-old man, have been rushed to the hospital, Kyodo News quoted the police as saying. The police said that eyewitnesses saw a man screaming “die” as he started the fire, adding that knives were found at the crime scene.

Footage from the scene showed thick smoke emanating out of the building as firefighters worked on extinguishing the flames, CNN reported.

A Kyoto city fire department spokesperson said that the department had sent 35 fire engines and other firefighting vehicles to the site, The Guardian reported. Kyoto Animation is known for anime productions like Sound! Euphonium, A Silent Voice and Violet Evergarden. </s> An arson attack on an anime studio in Japan has left at least 33 people dead and dozens injured in Japan’s worst mass murder in nearly two decades.

The perpetrator, who was also injured and has been taken into police custody, walked into the 1st Studio building of Kyoto Animation in Fushimi ward, Kyoto, at about 10.30am. He poured what is suspected to be petrol in multiple areas of the building before igniting it.

The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, called the attack “too appalling for words” and offered condolences.

There were more than 70 people in the building, which is Kyoto Animation’s main studio.

About 30 fire engines and ambulances went to the three-storey building after an explosion. Victims were taken to various hospitals in Kyoto.

The suspect, identified only as a 41-year-old male, was reportedly taken to hospital before being arrested by police, who said he had admitted starting the fire.

No motive for the arson attack has been reported, but Japan’s public broadcaster said he had shouted “drop dead” as he set the petrol alight.

Preliminary investigations by the police have uncovered no links between the subject, who has yet to be named, and the animation studio.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Firefighters at the Kyoto Animation building. Photograph: Kyodo/Reuters

“A man threw liquid and set fire to it,” said a Kyoto prefectural police spokesman.

Emergency calls to the city fire department reported there had been an explosion on the ground floor, while later calls included people shouting: “Help us, the fire is climbing.”

Images shot from a helicopter for NHK showed smoke billowing from the top floor and fire crews still battling the blaze of the badly damaged building hours after it had started. Fire crews said there might be more people left in the building.

The fire department said the three floors of the building covered a total of 700 sq metres and that every storey had been damaged by the fire.

Professor Yuji Hasemi, an expert in fire safety and materials at Tokyo’s Waseda University, told NHK that a combination of poor ventilation, an abundance of paper used by artists and the large amount of petrol likely caused the fire to spread too quickly for people to escape. No fire escape stairs were visible in images of the building.

Violent crime is rare in Japan, though it is not unknown. In July 2016, a mass stabbing at a care home by a former employee killed 16 and injured more. In September 2001, a fire at a building in the Kabukicho entertainment district of central Tokyo killed 44. Arson was suspected, but nobody was ever charged, meaning the Kyoto Animation attack is the worst confirmed mass murder in Japan’s post-war history.

Akidearest (@akidearest) I’m heartbroken seeing what happened to Kyoto Animation. I don’t know what that sick person must have had against that studio to set it on fire, but my condolences to all the hard working employees. I wish you all a safe recovery...

Kyoto Animation

Kyoto Animation, known as KyoAni, was founded in 1981 by Yoko Hatta, an anime producer. Her husband, Hideaki, serves as the company’s president. KyoAni has produced popular anime TV series and feature films, as well as publishing illustrated novels and manga. It is well known among anime aficionados around the world for its dedication to high-quality production techniques, with a catalogue that includes A Silent Voice: The Movie, K-On!, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Lucky Star. Its company headquarters are in Uji city.

Kyoto Animation has a reputation for treating its employees well in an industry infamous for harsh working conditions, long hours and, for junior animators, very low pay. The growth of the genre’s popularity worldwide and increased demand for content from streaming platforms such as Netflix has put even more pressure on the studios at a time when Japan is experiencing a severe labour shortage. Most studios are booked out with projects up to two years ahead.

Many anime artists are paid on a per-frame basis and tight deadlines make the work gruelling and long hours inevitable. Kyoto Animation bucks the trend by making its animators full-time employees. This allows them to spend more time on each image and create high-quality anime.

One of its best-known franchises is K-On!, a comedy about a band formed by high-school girls. It started life as a manga comic book, before Kyoto Animation created two TV anime series that aired between 2009 and 2010. It was also broadcast overseas and released on DVD in the UK. Kyoto also produced a film directed by Naoko Yamada – which followed the girls’ graduation trip to London – that was released at the end of 2011 and grossed ¥1.64bn (£12.2m) in Japan. The film featured a cafe based on the Troubadour in Earl’s Court, south-west London, which has become a popular destination for fans.

A Silent Voice, also by Yamada, which dealt with childhood suicide, was hailed by critics and fans when it was released in 2016. Although overshadowed at the time by Your Name, whose director Makoto Shinkai lavished praise on it, it still took £29.4m ($33m) globally.

• This article was amended on 23 July 2019 to correct the location of the fire. It was at the company’s studio in Kyoto’s Fushimi ward, not at the headquarters in Uji as an earlier version said. A misspelling of Fushimi ward has also been corrected. </s> Thirty-three people have died and dozens have been left injured after a suspected arson attack in an animation studio in Kyoto, Japan.

A man reportedly shouted “You die!” before setting fire to Kyoto Animation studio on Thursday, local media reports.

The fire started in the three-story building after the suspect sprayed an unidentified liquid accelerant, Kyoto prefectural police and fire department officials said, according to the Associated Press.

With 33 dead, the fire is the worst mass killing in Japan since a man stabbed and killed 19 people at an assisted living facility in western Tokyo in 2016. In 2001, 44 people died in a fire in Tokyo’s busy entertainment district, but that it ruled accidental according to the New York .

Thirty six others were injured.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the fire was “too appalling for words” in a post on Twitter, adding: “I would like to express my sympathies to the injured people and pray for a quick recovery.”

Japan has a famously low crime rate. The number of crimes fell to about 915,000 in 2017, the lowest level in the post-war era.

Here’s what to know about the suspected arson attack on Kyoto Animation Co.

Who is suspected of starting the fire?

A 41-year-old man was reportedly seen pouring flammable liquid and setting it alight. A Kyoto prefectural police spokesperson told CNN he had a backpack containing several knives.

Broadcaster NHK said the suspect had been detained in connection with the fire and was later taken to hospital for treatment. A witness told NHK that the suspect was burned on his armed and legs and complained that something had been “stolen” from him, according to the AP.

He has not been identified by authorities.

What is Kyoto Animation Co.?

Kyoto Animation, better known as KyoAni, is unlike many other animation studios. Founded in 1981 by producer Yoko Hatta, is known for its focus on quality rather than quantity, preferring to hire full time illustrators rather than freelance ones.

The studio has produced TV series and feature films, as well as publishing illustrated novels and manga.

What shows and movies have they produced?

Its hits include anime such as , and . Its anime adaptation of the manga is one of its best-known works. The TV series, a comedy about five high school girls who play in a band, was very successful when it aired in Japan in 2009, according to the Japan . It was also broadcast overseas.

, a feature film that arrived on Netflix in the U.S. last month, was hailed by critics and fans when it was released in 2016. The drama based on manga by Yoshitoki Oima deals with fracturing friendships and childhood suicide. The gave it a four-star review, calling it “a beguiling film: subtle, sensuous and delicate.”

How are the fans reacting?

Thousands of fans and anime industry professionals have taken to Twitter to pay tribute to the studio. Many praised Kyoto Animation for treating its employees well in an industry known for harsh working conditions and low pay. A labour shortage combined with a growing demand for content around the world has put pressure on studios in recent years.

Mike Toole, editor-at-large at Anime News Network, wrote: “Kyoto Animation are a rarity in the anime business: they treat their people well, they strive to own part of their works, and their creations are consistently excellent, at the very least on a technical level.”

Sentai Filmworks, a licensing company specializing in Japanese animation and film based in Houston, Texas, has launched a crowdfunding campaign called Help KyoAni Heal. The campaign has raised over $300,000 our of its $500,000 goal. </s> At least 33 people have died in a suspected arson attack

At least 33 people were killed in a fire at the acclaimed Kyoto Animation Co. in Kyoto, Japan on Thursday. Dozens more were injured, some of whom are in critical condition. The fire appears to have been the result of arson, and police are waiting to question the suspect, who is also injured.

Firefighters worked for hours to contain the blaze, located in a residential area of Kyoto’s Fushimi=ku district.

Kyoto Animation’s president, Hideaki Hatta, said that the company had received threatening emails before the attack.

The manga and anime series produced by Kyotro Animation include “K-On!”, “Haruhi Suzumiya,” and “Violet Evergarden.”

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, tweeted, “So many people have lost their life and been injured as a result of the arson and murder case that took place in Kyoto today. It’s so tragic that I am at a loss for words.”

We invite you to share condolences for the victims in our Guest Book. </s> Firefighters work as smoke billows from a three-story building of Kyoto Animation in a fire in Kyoto, western Japan, Thursday, July 18, 2019. Kyoto prefectural police said the fire broke out Thursday morning after a man burst into it and spread unidentified liquid and put fire. (Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on a fire in a Japanese animation studio (all times local):

A Japanese fire official says the death toll from the Kyoto Animation studio fire is now 33 and nobody else is believed to be still missing.

Kyoto fire department official Kazuhiro Hayashi says 36 others have been injured, 10 of them critically.

Hayashi says firefighters found the largest number of victims on the top floor of the three-story building, including some who had collapsed on the stairs leading to the roof. Two of the dead were found on the first floor, 11 on the second and 20 on the third floor.

Japanese media reports said the suspect may have set the fire at the front door, forcing people to try to find other exits and slowing their escape.

The outcome makes the case the deadliest fire since a 2001 fire that killed 44 in Tokyo’s Kabukicho entertainment district.

The suspect was injured and is in a hospital.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe mourned for the victims of a deadly fire at a Kyoto animation production office.

Abe, in his tweet Thursday, said he was speechless at the horrendous scene of the building that gutted out by the explosion and fire.

Abe tweeted: “I express my condolences to the people who were killed, and pray for the earliest possible recovery of those who were injured.”

A man suspected of starting the fire Thursday is among those injured and treated in a hospital.

A Japanese fire official says nearly 30 people are now confirmed or presumed dead in a suspected arson at a popular animation production studio in Kyoto.

Kyoto fire department official Mikihide Daikoku says 36 others have been injured, some of them critically.

Daikoku says firefighters found more than a dozen people presumed dead on the top floor of a three-story building, some of them collapsed on the stairs leading to the roof.

Authorities say 20 people have been now confirmed dead, with nearly 10 others presumed dead. The outcome makes the case the deadliest fire since a 2001 fire that killed 44 in Tokyo’s Kabukicho entertainment district.

A man is suspected of starting the fire Thursday. He is among those injured in a hospital.

The president of a popular Japanese animation production company that was gutted in a deadly fire has said his company has received anonymous death threats.

Hideaki Hatta, head of Kyoto Animation, told reporters the company had gotten threats by emails in the past but responded “sincerely” each time.

Japanese fire officials said at least 13 people have been confirmed dead and more than 10 others were presumed dead in Thursday’s suspected arson.

Hatta asked, “Why on earth did such violence have to be used?”

Japanese fire department officials said at least 13 people have been confirmed dead and more than 10 others were presumed dead in the suspected arson at the studio Thursday.

A man suspected of starting the fire Thursday was also injured and being treated in a hospital.

A Japanese fire official says at least 23 people are now confirmed or presumed dead in a suspected arson at a popular animation production studio in Kyoto.

Kyoto fire department official Satoshi Fujiwara says 36 others have been injured, some of them critically.

He says firefighters found more than 10 people presumed dead on the top floor of a three-story building, some of them collapsed on the stairs leading to the roof.

Earlier, authorities have confirmed seven dead and six others presumed dead.

A man is suspected of starting the fire early Thursday. He is among those injured in a hospital.

A Japanese fire official says at least 12 people are presumed dead and more could be missing after they were trapped by fire at a popular animation production studio in Kyoto.

Kyoto fire department official Satoshi Fujiwara says 35 others have been injured, some of them critically.

He says firefighters found 12 people who are presumed dead inside the three-story building that was gutted by the blaze.

He says there are several others — up to 18 — who could not be reached but it is not clear if all those had reported to work Thursday.

A man is suspected of starting the fire early Thursday. He is among those injured in a hospital.

Japanese authorities say at least 38 people have been injured, some critically, after a man started a fire at a famous animation production studio in Kyoto.

Kyoto prefectural police say the fire broke out Thursday morning at a three-story building of Kyoto Animation after a man burst in and spread unidentified liquid that set off the blaze.

Fire department officials say 10 of the injured are in serious condition.

Rescue officials set up a tent outside the building to provide first aid and sort out the injured. Fire department officials say more than 70 people were in the building at the time of the fire, but most of them ran outside. </s> Japanese authorities say at least 38 injured in fire at a Kyoto animation studio, a man arrested on suspicion of arson.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese authorities say at least 38 injured in fire at a Kyoto animation studio, a man arrested on suspicion of arson. </s> A Japanese fire official says nearly 30 people are confirmed or presumed dead after Kyoto animation studio fire

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese fire official says nearly 30 people are confirmed or presumed dead after Kyoto animation studio fire . </s> Japanese fire official says more than 20 now confirmed or presumed dead after Kyoto animation studio fire.

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese fire official says more than 20 now confirmed or presumed dead after Kyoto animation studio fire.
A 41-year old man sets fire to the main offices of Kyoto Animation, an animation studio based in Kyoto, Japan. At least 34 people are confirmed dead and 35 injured. Many of the victims are in their 20s and 30s.