1995 : NERVE GAS ATTACK ON TOKYO SUBWAY:
At the height of the morning rush hour in Tokyo, Japan, five two-man
terrorist teams from the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult, riding on
separate subway trains, converge at the Kasumigaseki station and
secretly release lethal sarin gas into the air. The terrorists then
took a sarin antidote and escaped while the commuters, blinded and
gasping for air, rushed to the exits. Twelve people died, and 5,500
were treated in hospitals, some in a comatose state. Most of the
survivors recovered, but some victims suffered permanent damage to
their eyes, lungs, and digestive systems. A United States Senate
subcommittee later estimated that if the sarin gas had been
disseminated more effectively at Kasumigaseki station, a hub of the
Tokyo subway system, tens of thousands might have been killed.
In the attack's aftermath, Japanese police raided Aum Shinrikyo
headquarters and arrested hundreds of members, including the cult's
blind leader, Shoko Asahara. The cult, which combined Buddhism and
yoga with apocalyptic Christian philosophy, was already under
investigation for a 1994 sarin attack that killed seven, and for the
murder of several political opponents.
During the 1980s, Asahara, a self-styled Buddhist monk, began winning
numerous converts to his Aum Shinrikyo cult, whose name translates
roughly to the "Supreme Teachings of Om." Asahara exploited the
spiritual vacuum left by Japan's economic boom years and promised
religious rebirth and supernatural powers to young Japanese who felt
uncomfortable within their country's rigidly homogenous society. In
1989, Aum was recognized as a religious corporation in Japan, and by
1995 it had a worldwide following of more than 40,000 people and
assets in excess of $1 billion.
In the early 1990s, Asahara added Christian apocalyptic beliefs to his
Buddhist teachings and proclaimed that he was the reincarnation of
both Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha. Aum became militant, stockpiling
weapons and recruiting brilliant young scientists to help him
accumulate an arsenal of biochemical weapons, including advanced nerve
agents such as VX and killer diseases such as Q-fever and anthrax.
These weapons, Asahara promised, would lead Aum Shinrikyo to victory
in the coming Armageddon.
More than a dozen political opponents to the cult were murdered, their
bodies incinerated in specially built microwave ovens, and in June
1994 Aum staged its first sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, west of
Tokyo. A car, modified to strategically release the lethal gas, was
driven near a dormitory where judges and court officials conducting a
case against Aum were staying. Seven people died, and 150 people were
injured. Japan's authorities, hindered by constitutional protection of
religious organizations, failed to arrest Asahara or suppress his
cult, though they were the prime suspects in the attack. In early
1995, Asahara told his followers that World War III had begun, and a
second sarin attack was planned for the Tokyo subway system, which
carries some four million riders a day.
In the years since the 1995 attack, five Aum members have been
sentenced to die for the murderous acts committed by the cult at
Kasumigaseki station and elsewhere, and others have been sentenced to
varying prison terms. Shoko Asahara, was sentenced to death by hanging
in February 2004, but continues to appeal the decision.
Aum Shinrikyo was stripped of its legal status and tax privileges as a
religious organization, but the Japanese government concluded it was
no longer a threat and stopped short of using an anti-subversion law
to ban it. Aum has changed its name to Aleph, which is the first
letter of the Hebrew alphabet and meant to signify renewal, and
maintains an impressive following.
history.com/tdih.do
At the height of the morning rush hour in Tokyo, Japan, five two-man
terrorist teams from the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult, riding on
separate subway trains, converge at the Kasumigaseki station and
secretly release lethal sarin gas into the air. The terrorists then
took a sarin antidote and escaped while the commuters, blinded and
gasping for air, rushed to the exits. Twelve people died, and 5,500
were treated in hospitals, some in a comatose state. Most of the
survivors recovered, but some victims suffered permanent damage to
their eyes, lungs, and digestive systems. A United States Senate
subcommittee later estimated that if the sarin gas had been
disseminated more effectively at Kasumigaseki station, a hub of the
Tokyo subway system, tens of thousands might have been killed.
In the attack's aftermath, Japanese police raided Aum Shinrikyo
headquarters and arrested hundreds of members, including the cult's
blind leader, Shoko Asahara. The cult, which combined Buddhism and
yoga with apocalyptic Christian philosophy, was already under
investigation for a 1994 sarin attack that killed seven, and for the
murder of several political opponents.
During the 1980s, Asahara, a self-styled Buddhist monk, began winning
numerous converts to his Aum Shinrikyo cult, whose name translates
roughly to the "Supreme Teachings of Om." Asahara exploited the
spiritual vacuum left by Japan's economic boom years and promised
religious rebirth and supernatural powers to young Japanese who felt
uncomfortable within their country's rigidly homogenous society. In
1989, Aum was recognized as a religious corporation in Japan, and by
1995 it had a worldwide following of more than 40,000 people and
assets in excess of $1 billion.
In the early 1990s, Asahara added Christian apocalyptic beliefs to his
Buddhist teachings and proclaimed that he was the reincarnation of
both Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha. Aum became militant, stockpiling
weapons and recruiting brilliant young scientists to help him
accumulate an arsenal of biochemical weapons, including advanced nerve
agents such as VX and killer diseases such as Q-fever and anthrax.
These weapons, Asahara promised, would lead Aum Shinrikyo to victory
in the coming Armageddon.
More than a dozen political opponents to the cult were murdered, their
bodies incinerated in specially built microwave ovens, and in June
1994 Aum staged its first sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, west of
Tokyo. A car, modified to strategically release the lethal gas, was
driven near a dormitory where judges and court officials conducting a
case against Aum were staying. Seven people died, and 150 people were
injured. Japan's authorities, hindered by constitutional protection of
religious organizations, failed to arrest Asahara or suppress his
cult, though they were the prime suspects in the attack. In early
1995, Asahara told his followers that World War III had begun, and a
second sarin attack was planned for the Tokyo subway system, which
carries some four million riders a day.
In the years since the 1995 attack, five Aum members have been
sentenced to die for the murderous acts committed by the cult at
Kasumigaseki station and elsewhere, and others have been sentenced to
varying prison terms. Shoko Asahara, was sentenced to death by hanging
in February 2004, but continues to appeal the decision.
Aum Shinrikyo was stripped of its legal status and tax privileges as a
religious organization, but the Japanese government concluded it was
no longer a threat and stopped short of using an anti-subversion law
to ban it. Aum has changed its name to Aleph, which is the first
letter of the Hebrew alphabet and meant to signify renewal, and
maintains an impressive following.
history.com/tdih.do
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