Mourners paused earlier in December near the building in Osaka, Japan, where fire engulfed a mental-health clinic.
Photo: /Associated Press
TOKYO—The man suspected of starting a fire that killed 25 people at a Japanese mental-health clinic earlier this month has died of injuries from the incident, police said.
The blaze on the fourth floor of an office building in central Osaka on Dec. 17 was one of the deadliest in modern Japanese history. Witnesses said the man, identified by police as 61-year-old Morio Tanimoto, carried in bags containing a liquid that caught fire near the entrance to the clinic.
Police said Mr. Tanimoto, who had received treatment at the clinic, bought gasoline prior to the incident and was suspected of starting the fire with a cigarette lighter.
Experts said the victims probably died of carbon-monoxide poisoning after being trapped inside as the fire burned close to the only clear means of exit, an emergency stairwell. The initial death toll was 24 people and one other person died a few days later.
Mr. Tanimoto sustained serious injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital. He died Thursday evening local time, a police official said.
During a search of Mr. Tanimoto’s home, police said they found newspaper articles about a similar arson attack in 2019 that killed 36 people in Kyoto, near Osaka.
Following the 2019 attack, Japan made it compulsory for buyers of gasoline in canisters to show an identity card and explain how the fuel would be used. Police said Mr. Tanimoto told gas-station staff he needed the gasoline for a motorcycle.
Mr. Tanimoto lived alone a few miles from the clinic and neighbors said they had little contact with him. Police suspect Mr. Tanimoto rode a bicycle to the clinic on the day of the incident. Police released security-camera footage showing a man cycling along with containers strapped to the back of the bicycle.
Write to Alastair Gale at [email protected]
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