January 25, Thursday, 2024

1. A Japanese court has sentenced a man to death for the arson attack that killed 36 employees at a famous animation studio in Kyoto. The number of deaths is the largest on record in a criminal trial in the country in more than three decades. Prosecutors charged Aoba Shinji with murder and arson after he doused Kyoto Animation’s studio with gasoline and started a fire in July 2019. The attack left 32 others injured. The company is known for “Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” “Violet Evergarden” and other anime hits.
2. Japan’s main ruling Liberal Democratic Party has approved an interim report on political reform. It calls for revamping intraparty factions into true policy groups that will be prohibited from holding fundraising parties and will not exert influence on personnel matters.
3. Japanese government officials have agreed on a support plan to help residents and businesses in central Japan recover from heavy damage caused by the massive earthquake that hit the region on New Year’s Day.