A major arson attack on an anime studio in Kyoto Japan is now one of the worst mass killing in Japan in years with 33 deaths. Reuters. A 41 year old man dumped gasoline and shouted "die" at the Kyoto Animation Studios. The resulting blaze cost 33 people their lives. The suspect is in custody and will be charged with murder. 36 additional people were injured, along with the suspect. Though violent crime is rare in Japan, they have had several incidences of mass violence including a mass stabbing two months ago and another in 2016.
My Comment:
I've got a few things to say about this incident. The first is that I have actually been to Kyoto. My family hosted a foreign exchange student when I was a child and her family was gracious enough to invite my family to Japan. Kyoto was one of the cities I visited. The trip was a long time ago, but I do remember liking the city, so this story is more personal to me than most.
As for Japan though, they have had a few of these mass causality attacks lately and throughout their history. Though Japan is a very safe country there are a few people there that do want to commit these kinds of attacks. As of right now the motive is unknown so I won't speculate it but there are always people that want to kill and injure large numbers of people that exist in every society.
I am fairly worried about the repercussions of this attack. I have always feared that someday people would realize how effective arson would be as a terror weapon and I think this case could possibly popularize it. With a gas can and fire source this man managed to rack up a body count higher than most mass shooters and with much less effort than a bomber. Arson is disturbingly easy and has a good chance of causing a disproportionate amount of casualties compared to other kinds of attacks.
I think there may very well be copycat attacks, both in Japan and globally. The arson cat is out of the bag so to speak and it's likely various terrorists and psychopaths will learn a major lesson from this attack. And that lesson is that arson can kill just as effectively as a bomb or a bullet. And in many cases it will do a better job...
That's a message that I had tried to surprise, even if my blog has limited reach. When ever I would argue for gun rights I said that there were ways to kill a large number of people that were more effective and easier than shooting people. Arson was one of the things I was thinking about but now it's a moot point.
As for the fire itself, it isn't too surprising that so many people died. Fire can spread incredibly quickly and smoke can disorient people pretty badly. If the attack occurred near the entrance there may not have been a good way to escape from the smoke and flames. Even with modern fire alarms and sprinkler systems, which I am assuming this building had, a fire can spread quickly enough that people can't escape it.
Hopefully the good guys can learn some lessons from this attack as well. In addition to the obvious, such as making sure the fire alarms and sprinklers work, I think security should recognize that arson is a major threat. I don't know if this animation studio had security or not, my guess is no as it is Japan and there is little crime, but in copycat attacks it would be wise to treat a man trying to start a fire the same as someone trying to shoot a gun or set off a bomb. Stop them at all costs...
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