Kyoto Animation Will Not Publicly Release Arson Victim Identities "For The Time Being"

The anime world is still reeling from the tragic arson at Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio building that's resulted in the loss of lives and work. As Kyoto Animation begins to recover from this tragedy, new details about the deadly fire are still being released at this time. But out of respect for those who have lost their lives, the studio revealed in an official statement to their website that they will not be revealing the identities of the victims of the fire for the time being.

While investigators and Kyoto Animation are working with the families of both the injured and deceased employees, the studio has asked the mass media to refrain from releasing the names of those deceased until the end of the inquiry.

In this statement, Kyoto Animation gave fans an update on how the studio is beginning to recover, "The details of the case are as announced from the Fushimi police station. There is nothing further from our company to say. We are currently working on the family and relatives of injured employees, and the employees and families and relatives of the deceased as much as possible."

Elaborating further, "For the time being, please refrain from direct interviews with our company, our employees and their family members, relatives, bereaved and friends, and our business partners. In addition, we have submitted a written request to the police and the media to refrain from the real name coverage of this matter. With regard to the names, etc. of our employees who have suffered, while giving top priority to the intentions of family members, relatives and survivors, we have no plans to announce them until at least the end of the inquiry."

In an additional statement to the press, Kyoto Animation CEO Hideaki Hatta thanked fans from around the world for their outpouring of support, "I learned from news reports that an unbelievable number of people around the world are expressing their feelings for us. Your thoughts are invaluable connection to us while we are facing this darkness...Please give us some time. Kyoto Animation will work hard to deliver anime that cultivate dreams, hopes, and excitement to people all over the world, to realize the happiness of employees and staff, and to make a contribution to society and the local community, with those who are helping us."

On July 18th at around 10:30 AM JST, Kyoto Animation's 1st Studio was struck by a tragic fire. Reports have indicated that the fire has resulted in over 30 casualties, and over 30 injured as of this writing. With 30 fire engines responding to the fire, firefighters were able to completely extinguish the fire five hours after in began. The fire is reportedly being investigated as an arson, and the suspect responsible has reportedly been identified. Kyoto Animation president Hideaki Hatta is also considering erecting a memorial park in the place of the tragedy.

ComicBook.com will continue to share updates as the story develops, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.

via NHK, @otakucalendarjp on Twitter