Victims of Osaka clinic arson attack mourned 1 year later

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:59 JST, December 17, 2022

OSAKA — Bereaved families mourn the victims of an arson attack at a psychosomatic clinic one year later in the Kitashinchi area of Osaka City on Saturday.

Twenty-six people, including the clinic’s director, were killed in the fire.

The fire broke out at around 10:15 a.m. on Dec. 17, 2021, at the clinic, located on the fourth floor of a multi-tenant building in Kita Ward.

The Osaka prefectural police referred then 61-year-old Morio Tanimoto to prosecutors on suspicion of murder. Tanimoto was a patient at the clinic but later died after the fire. The Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict the suspect.

On Saturday, mourners visited the building where the clinic had been to place flowers and offer prayers, despite the rain and cold.

A man in his 70s from Kyoto said his male relative, who was a patient at the clinic, died in the fire. He said the man’s child was born in September this year.

“His family was depressed but have since recovered,” said the Kyoto man. “I prayed that his soul would watch over his family.”