The man who set fire to a psychiatric clinic in Japan sealed the emergency exits and caused the death of 25 people

The death toll in a recent apparently arson fire in Osaka, western Japan, has risen to 25 after the death early this Tuesday of a young woman who remained in critical condition.

The suspect of having set fire to a internal medicine and psychiatry clinic located in a central neighborhood of the city has been identified as Morio Tanimoto, 61, and is one of two people who remain in serious condition among the 27 who were transferred to various hospitals after the attack.

The police continue the investigation to clarify the event, one of the deadliest recent fires in the Asian country.

Tanimoto, center patient, would have intended to emulate the 2019 arson at the Kyoto Animation animation studio, in which 36 people died, according to details of the investigation published today by the Kyodo news agency.

Investigators found a newspaper article about the fire two years ago in the house where he lived Tanimoto, that a month ago I had bought 10 liters of gasoline, as happened in the 2019 incident, which led them to think that he would have tried using a similar method.

The man alleged at the time of purchase of the fuel, for which it is necessary to identify himself, that it was for his motorcycle.

According to the information leaked so far, there was a fire in the home of Tanimoto half an hour before the fire at the clinic on Friday the 17th, so the police suspect that the man may have tried to light some gasoline before the planned attack.

The police believe that Tanimoto would also have tried to seal the emergency exit of the clinic a day before to prevent people from escaping.

This assumption is based on statements that the director of the clinic, Kotaro Nishizawa, 49, made to his wife on the eve of the fire. He told her that he had found duct tape on the fire escape door and that he had removed it. Nishizawa is among the 25 fatalities.

Security camera footage shows that the fire broke out between one and two minutes after Tanimoto’s arrival.

The investigated placed a paper bag in the reception area and the flames rose rapidly after bending to manipulate it.

Investigators found a burned lighter at the point where the flames originated.

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