Tag: Kyoto

Kyoto seeks to guard geishas from tourist ‘paparazzi’

By Fred Mery KYOTO, Japan, March 11, 2024 (AFP) – Kyoto is cracking down after locals complained that Instagram-obsessed tourist “paparazzi” are harassing the Japanese city’s famous, immaculately dressed geisha. Real-life geisha, or “geiko” (“women of art”) as they are known locally, work for a living — as they have for centuries — in teahouses in Kyoto’s picturesque Gion district where they perform traditional Japanese dance, music and games. However, like other major tourist attractions […]

Japanese prosecutors seek death penalty for Kyoto Animation arsonist

By Natsuko FUKUE   TOKYO, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – Prosecutors on Thursday sought the death penalty for a man charged over a 2019 arson attack on an anime studio that killed 36 people in Japan’s deadliest crime in decades, reports said. Shinji Aoba, who nearly died from burns he sustained, has admitted to starting the fire at Kyoto Animation and faces five charges including murder, attempted murder, and arson. He is accused of breaking […]

Japan police identify suspect in Kyoto anime studio ‘arson attack’

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The horrifying fire at a renowned anime firm which killed dozens in Kyoto is being treated as arson and murder, Japanese police have said, with scores of detectives investigating the deadliest violent crime for decades in the famously safe country. The blaze on Thursday killed 34 people and wounded dozens more at Kyoto Animation — well known among fans across the world for its animations of popular manga works — […]

Shock and grief as details come out on Japan fire that killed dozens at anime company

  by Quentin TYBERGHIEN Agence France Presse KYOTO, Japan (AFP) — Details emerged Friday of the horrifying blaze that ripped through a Japanese anime firm, killing dozens including people who tried in vain to reach the roof, but the motive for the suspected arson remained unclear. Eyewitnesses described a fire that was like “looking at hell”, after a man apparently doused the production company office in the city of Kyoto with flammable liquid and set […]

Deadly Kyoto fire: What we know

by Kyoko HASEGAWA TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Police are investigating a suspected arson attack at an animation production firm in the Japanese city of Kyoto that killed 33 people and injured dozens more. One suspect is in custody but the motive for the apparent attack remains unclear. Here is what we know: How did the fire break out? Local fire stations began receiving emergency calls around 10:30am local time on Thursday morning, with people describing […]

33 dead in suspected arson attack on Japan animation studio

  by Shingo ITO Agence France Presse TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A suspected arson attack at an animation production company in Japan killed 33 people and injured dozens more on Thursday, after a man reportedly doused the building with flammable liquid and shouted “drop dead.” A motive for the apparent attack remained unclear hours after the blaze. If arson is confirmed, the attack will be among the deadliest criminal acts in decades in Japan, where […]