Shoko Asahara, leader of the Aum Shinrikyo cult that launched two sarin gas attacks in Japan in 1994 (Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, killing seven) and 1995 (in the subways in Tokyo, killing 12) has been found guilty today of all 13 charges against him, and has been sentenced to death. The charges included ordering the two gas attacks, the murders of cult investigator Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family, and other crimes committed by the group. Several other members have already been sentenced to death, although I don’t believe any of the executions have been carried out yet.
We lived in Matsumoto when the first Sarin attack happened. I was actually away from my newly-wed husband, just finishing up a job contract, but he was there.
At first it was thought that maybe there was a lost wartime chemical dump leaking, then they thought that someone had been mixing chemicals in his shed.
For a couple of days it was very frightening indeed because no-one knew what the gas was or why it had happened. It was hot at night and people had their windows open.
We lived about two miles from the gas leak so not knowing where it had come from or if it would happen again was agonizing.
The man who was initially suspected had his name leaked to the press by police, and his life was made a living hell. What was worse was his wife was severely injured by the gas, and he was having to deal with public vilification at a time when he was wondering if his wife would live. She did survive but she is (if she is still alive - haven’t seen news of her recently) extremely badly affected and has no quality of life whatsoever. Her husband and children remain devoted to her care. The police actually made a public apology, but it was too little, too late.
That attack was apparently an effort to poison or kill a judge (or judges?) who were due to hear a case concerning a dispute over Aum property.
The murder of the anti Aum lawyer and his family caused huge outrage over all of Japan. The bodies were missing for a long time until finally the members who murdered them confessed. What caused the most hurt was that apparently the mother had pleaded for the life of her baby but he was killed anyway. And after their deaths their bodies were discarded in mountainous areas great distances from each other. There was an element of defilement there - separating a baby from his mother, even in death - that really revolted people here.
Of course, living in an area directly affected by this group, my friends and colleagues spent a long time discussing events as they occured. We were all horrified by it.
Another disturbing thing about the Sakamoto family murder (which occured in 1989, five years before the first attack, though the bodies weren’t found and no arrests were made until 1996) was that Tsutsumi had given just an interview about Aum to the TBS network (Tokyo Broadcasting System, not Turner). Some members of Aum showed up afterwards and demanded to see the interview before it aired. TBS showed it to them, and a week later the family was murdered. The TBS staff then chose not only to not air the interview, but also to not tell the police what had happened. They changed their mind only when the man who murdered Sakamoto confessed to police and it became clear he was going to tell them about seeing the interview.
I don’t know if Sakamoto and his family would be alive today if TBS hadn’t shown the interview to Aum, but had TBS not tried to cover up its involvement afterwards, the police would have begun investigating the cult much sooner than they did, the murder might not have gone unsolved for seven years, and quite possibly the sarin attacks might have been prevented.
I guess I should add: the subway attack occurred just two months before I came to Japan, so this was the main subject of discussion for everyone during my first couple of years here.
Also, for a long time there were wanted posters in all the train stations and public notice boards for various high-ranking members of Aum. Now nine years later, there are still posters everywhere for three members that haven’t been caught.
Stupid question, from me…does anyone here know why it took so long to finish the court case? Is the Japanese judicial system normally this slow, or was there an unusual amount of pettifogging involved in this case?
Though I must say…it’s nice to see that even in a modern, stable, civilized country like Japan, there can still be a place for a good necktie party for truly “deserving” people.
No it isn’t. I thought the Japanese were smarter than this.
That said, you can’t really quibble with executing someone for what amounts to treason. (What was he actually charged with? Conspiracy to murder? Murder?)
Probably within the last few months or so. Amnesty International’s website isn’t being very cooperative, but according to this page there are a little over 100 people on death row, and between 5-10 are executed every year. The executions are only announced after they’ve been carried out, and are usually held when the Diet is in recess to avoid criticism. The general public doesn’t seem to consider the death penalty that controversial.
dutchboy: the official charges were thirteen counts of murder, all of which he was found guilty of.
ivylass: yep, appeal time. Odds are he’ll die of old age rather than hanging (he isn’t in the greatest health, either), which from what I’ve heard isn’t that uncommon for prisoners on death row in Japan.
I worked in Kamiyacho for 2.5 years. Left about 6 months before the attack. None of my colleagues at Swiss Bank were affected directly, but I was sure worried for a couple hours when it happened.
I also remember the first Matsumoto sarin attack. a great big WTF? It distinctly came to mind when the first news came out on the tokyo subway attack. The Japanese authorities really dropped the ball.
Actually, I remember that when Matsumoto Chizuo (Asahara Shoko’s real name) was first arrested and charged, there were predictions in the media that his trial would take up to 10 years. At seven years, 10 months since the first hearings, those predictions overshot a bit. In the paper this weekend there’s an editorial complaining that the trial took too long.
