KYODO NEWS - Jul 23, 2019 - 22:20 | Arts, All, Japan

Family and friends of Yasuhiro Takemoto are spending anxious moments as the highly regarded anime director remains missing following last week's deadly arson attack on a Kyoto Animation Co. studio.

Takemoto's father told Kyodo News on Tuesday that family members tried to contact him but to no avail after hearing news of the fire which left 34 people dead and over 30 others injured in the three-story studio building in Kyoto last Thursday.

The 47-year-old is the animation company's director and one of its leading directors who worked on a range of works including "Lucky Star" (Raki Suta), "Amagi Brilliant Park" and "Free!"

His 76-year-old father living in the western Japan city of Ako in Hyogo Prefecture now suspects his son is one of the 34 victims.

"I think he was in the building," he said, adding he is now waiting for the results of DNA identification by police.

The 34 victims -- 13 men and 21 women -- were aged from their 20s to 50s. The police said Tuesday they have finished conducting autopsies on all the victims, but they have not released identities.

The police have apprehended a man believed to have set the building on fire, but his motive is not yet known. He has been hospitalized with severe burns.

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