Preventing arson, Japan now requires gas stations to check customers' ID and the motives why they want to buy gasoline. (Image via Autoblog)

Preventing arson attack, Japan requires ID to buy gasoline

After the wake of an arson attack against the Kyoto Animation Co in July, the Japanese government passed a new regulation for gasoline purchase said a government official on Saturday.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency stated that the regulation, starting February 2020, will compel gas stations throughout Japan to check the customers from ID to the reason why they want to buy it.

The check means that the gas stations will check the ID or driver's license to crosscheck the eligibility of the personal data and the reason why they want to buy it.

The agency hopes that the regulation will make a stricter limitation for the criminals and prevent the arson attack by reporting them to the police.

In fact, since July after the KyoAni incident, on 25 July Kyoto Municipal demanded these gas stations to do the check. It was on a voluntary basis. However, since the majority of the customers refused to give the reason why they bought the gasoline, the businesses demanded the agency to set the checking to mandatory.

On July 18, the 41-year-old Shinji Oba set the building of KyoAni on fire with two 20L gasoline canisters. While setting it ablaze, Oba said that KyoAni “stole” his work. From 76 workers in the building, about 36 died due to the fire. On 3 - 4 November, a public memorial service will be held in Miyako Messe, Kyoto.

While the regulation reassuring for some, the flaw of this regulation lies in the “reasoning”. It is not sure whether a casual explanation would get away with it.

Source: https://bit.ly/36eW2e7