A monument dedicated to the victims of the July 18, 2019, arson-murder attack on Kyoto Animation’s headquarters in Uji, Kyoto Prefecture, was completed on Sunday.
Thirty-six employees died and 32 others were injured in the attack. The monument was erected in a park by volunteers from Kyoto Animation and bereaved family members, NHK reported.
The monument depicts 36 birds flying toward the future as a symbol of the attack on Kyoto Animation Studio 1.
One man who lost his daughter in the incident said: “The passion and skills of the employees who died still live on in your hearts. We, the surviving family members, are proud that they continue to give hope and inspiration to so many people."
Though five years have passed since the incident, Kyoto Animation is calling on people to refrain from visiting the crime scene out of consideration for neighboring residents.
In January, the Kyoto District Court sentence Shinji Aoba to death for the crime after finding him mentally competent to be held accountable for his crimes.
Aoba had told the court he was motivated to carry out his crimes under the belief that Kyoto Animation had plagiarized a novel he entered into a contest run by the firm.
