Osaka building fire deaths

Japanese police on Sunday identified a 61-year-old man as a prime suspect behind a fire that engulfed a mental health clinic in an eight-story building where he was a patient, killing 24 people who were trapped inside. 

The government also announced plans to inspect tens of thousands of similar buildings nationwide. Authorities believe the massive death toll at the downtown Osaka building on Friday was largely because the fire made its only emergency stairway unusable.

The fire was a shocking reminder of the 2019 attack at the Kyoto Animation studio, in which an attacker stormed in and set the building on fire, killing 36 people and injuring more than 30 others.