Jun 1, 2021

Woman arrested for arson threat to Japanese wit Studio

Japanese police have arrested a woman who they suspect of threatening to set fire to the offices of animation studio Wit Studio (Attack on Titan, Great Pretender).

According to police in Musashino, the Tokyo-adjacent city where Wit is based, the woman is suspected of sending the studio an email on May 7 that said she would set fire to their building a week later. She was arrested last Wednesday on the charge of forcible obstruction of business.

The 25-year-old woman is from Osaki city, Miyagi prefecture. The police are looking into whether she suffers from mental illness, and investigating whether she has been sending hate email and faxes to the studio since around 2018.

The case evokes the arson attack on Kyoto Animation in July 2019, which killed 36 people and injured 33 more. Since then, multiple people have been arrested in Japan following threats made against animation workers.

Last month, Studio Khara issued a statement condemning threats and slander against staff who had worked on the latest Evangelion film. Back in 2019, Japanese police arrested a man who had allegedly posted slanderous and threatening online comments aimed at Khara, including references to the Kyoto Animation attack.