News

Kyoto Animation Opens Account to Accept Donations for Fire Victims, Rebuilding

Kyoto Animation opened an account to accept donations on Tuesday, and it announced the details of the account on Wednesday. People who wish to send donations directly to the studio may use the following account information:

Bank Name: The Kyoto Shinkin Bank
Swift: KYSBJPJZ
Branch Name: Minami Momoyama Branch
Branch Number: 048
Address: 16-50, Yosai, Momoyama-cho, Hushimi-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto-hu, 612-8016, Japan
Account Number: 0002890
Account Holder: Kyoto Animation, Co., Ltd., representative director Hatta Hideaki (Hideaki Hatta)

Kyoto Animation stated that it will give the funds to families of the deceased and injured victims of last Thursday's fire at Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building. The company will also use the funds for rebuilding, but it did not specify if it will use the funds on the current building or a new one.

The studio is aiming for transparency regarding the funds received in the account, and it plans to reveal that information as soon as possible. In addition, the studio noted that it will post information on its website about fund-raising activities on the studio's behalf after it confirms them.

The Association of Japanese Animators (AJA) also announced on Monday that it has opened an account to accept donations for Kyoto Animation. AJA plans to reveal the details of the account when possible and begin accepting donations.

In addition, The Mainichi Shimbun reported on Tuesday that the public and employee entrances on the first floor of Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building had shutters before the fire, but they remained open during business hours, and the doors remained unlocked. The building had security cameras in four places around the entrances.

Background

Editor's Note: ANN's news team have decided not to publish the name of the suspect accused of arson, in order to focus our reporting on the victims. In addition, ANN's news team have decided to wait until an official list of victims has been released before reporting victims' names.

On Thursday at around 10:30 a.m. JST, a devastating fire broke out at Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building, killing 34 people and injuring 34 others. 30 fire engines responded to the fire, and firefighters were able to extinguish the fire within five hours after it started, but the fire was not fully put out until 6:20 a.m. on Friday.

Of those confirmed dead after being located at the studio, firefighters found two people on the first floor, 11 people on the second floor, one person in a stairwell between the second and third floors, and 19 people on the stairwell between the third floor and the rooftop. Of those killed, police have reported that 20 were women and 13 were men (the gender of one victim is unknown).

Kyoto Prefectural Police have already apprehended a 41-year-old man who allegedly used gasoline to start the fire, and are investigating the case as arson. The suspect is among those injured (although he is separate from the above-mentioned injured people). The suspect was taken to another hospital via helicopter on Saturday. Police have yet to fully arrest or interrogate the suspect, as he is still injured, and as such have not released an official statement on the suspect's motive. Police will later interrogate the subject to obtain his motive for the alleged attack.

The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper stated that according to investigative sources, the suspect told police that he started the fire because he alleges Kyoto Animation "stole his novel." Hatta stated on Saturday that he has never heard the suspect's name before, and no one by the suspect's name has submitted a novel to the company. Kyoto Animation solicits drafts of novels as part of its Kyoto Animation Awards program.

In an interview for the mass media on Saturday, Kyoto Animation president Hideaki Hatta stated that after Thursday's fire , he is considering demolishing the building and creating a public park at the spot of the fire that will include a monument. He added, "when I consider the staff and the people in this neighborhood, there are people who don't want to see such a gruesome sight." Hatta is also considering hosting a memorial ceremony for the victims.

He also told the press that all the messages of support from around the world are "becoming our emotional support."

Aside from a fire in a commercial building that killed 44 people in 2001 (where arson was suspected), the incident is the worst mass murder in Japan's post-World War II history.

Several organizations, such as Sentai Filmworks, Crunchyroll, the Animate retail chain, the city of Uji, and others are collecting donations or messages of support to support the company and the victims.

Kyoto Animation

Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building is located near Rokujizō Station in Uji City in Kyoto. Most of the studio's main line production takes place inside the building. The company also has a head office, a 2nd Studio building, a Tokyo Office, and the Animation DO building in other locations.

Yoko Hatta founded the company as Kyoto Anime Studio in 1981, with her husband Hideaki Hatta as the president. The company has since worked on a number of notable anime productions, but is perhaps best known initially for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, K-ON!, Lucky Star, and Clannad, and later for such works as Free!, Sound! Euphonium, A Silent Voice, Violet Evergarden, and Liz and the Blue Bird.

At the time of the fire, the company's current announced projects were: a new anime project for Sound! Euphonium, a new Violet Evergarden episode (slated for September) and film (slated for January 10, 2020), an all-new Free! film (slated for summer 2020), a second season for Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, an adaptation of Hiro Yuki's 20 Seiki Denki Mokuroku novel, and the Baja no Studio: Baja no Mita Umi anime short.

Sources: Kyoto Animation, The Mainichi Shimbun (国本ようこ), Anime! Anime! (Kōtarō Nakase), AJA