Tokyo Subway Gas Attack
The Tokyo Subway Gas Attack occurred on March 20, 1995, when sarin nerve gas was released in the Tokyo subway system, resulting in the deaths of 12 individuals and causing illness in approximately 5,500 others. This tragic incident was executed by members of Aum Shinrikyo, a religious cult led by Shoko Asahara, who was later arrested and convicted of murder. Following the attack, police conducted extensive raids on the cult's facilities, uncovering plans and materials for further gas attacks. Despite the severity of the incident, it was generally perceived as an isolated act by a small group, rather than indicative of a broader trend of terrorism in Japan. The attack heightened awareness of the potential for terrorist groups to deploy weapons of mass destruction in urban environments, sparking concerns about public safety. In the aftermath, Aum Shinrikyo's membership significantly declined, yet the group continued its activities under a new name, Aleph, to distance itself from the attack. The event remains a pivotal moment in Japanese history, reflecting the complexities of societal vulnerabilities and the challenges posed by extremist groups.
Tokyo Subway Gas Attack
Date: Mar. 20, 1995.
Place: Tokyo.
Incident: Sarin (nerve gas) is released into the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 and sickening 5,500.
Known or presumed perpetrators: The leader and members of a religious cult called Aum Shinrikyo were arrested and later convicted for the attack.
Impact: Because the attack was carried out by a small, self-contained cult, it was not viewed as symptomatic of a larger problem of terrorism inside Japan. It did, however, raise the level of consciousness about how a terrorist group could manufacture and use a "weapon of mass destruction" in a crowded urban environment without attracting attention beforehand.
Contents
The Incident
On March 20, 1995, five canisters of sarin nerve gas were released in five subway cars running on three separate lines of the Tokyo subway system. The gas killed 12 and sickened 5,500. It was the first event of several over the next two months that rattled Japan. Over that period Japan was gripped by an unfolding drama that included:
- Mar. 22: Police raid 25 separate offices of the Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) cult, including its headquarters 60 miles west of Tokyo, using canaries in cages to warn of impending gas. No gas was released, but ingredients to make poison gas were found.
- Mar. 30: Unidentified gunman wounds Japan's highest-ranking policeman, who is investigating the sarin gas attack.
- Apr. 19: An attack with chlorine-based gas on the Yokohama subway sickens 560 people.
- Apr. 21: Gas attack in department store in Yokahama injures 24.
- Apr. 23: A leading member of Aum Shinrikyo, Hideo Murai, was fatally stabbed on live television as police searched cult headquarters; police speculated the murder may have been meant to prevent him from providing information to their investigation.
- May 6: Containers of sodium cyanide sufficient to kill 10,000 people are found in restroom of Tokyo subway station.
- May 16: A parcel bomb maims an assistant to the top official of Tokyo (equivalent of mayor).
Perpetrators/Suspects
On Mar. 22, 1995, two days after the gas attack, police arrested Shoko Asahara, founder and leader of Aum Shinrikyo, at his headquarters west of Tokyo. He was eventually convicted of murder for having ordered the subway gas attack and in February 2004 he was sentenced to death-one of 13 cult members so sentenced.
In February 2006 a court ruled that Asahara had been mentally competent to stand trial.
Police later concluded that the cult had long planned other attacks in line with the leader's predictions of a global war. Japanese officials later discovered the cult had tried to obtain samples of the deadly Ebola virus from Zaire, had made miniature remote-control helicopters to distribute poison gas, and manufactured assault rifles in cult-owned factories.
Ten months before the Tokyo attack the cult had been blamed for a sarin gas attack on a Japanese municipal court that was about to rule in a dispute over cult-owned real estate; that attack killed seven and sickened 200.
Broader Impact
The Aum Shinrikyo cult was never linked to any larger organization, although it did have members in Russia and the United States as well as in Japan. The Tokyo subway attack was generally viewed as an aberration associated with a single cult, although it gave rise to speculation in Japan about how a cult that encouraged seemingly bizarre behavior (e.g. paying $200 for a drink of the cult leader's bath water) could attract a large number of well-educated professionals, such as lawyers.
Membership in Aum Shinrikyo soon declined from about 10,000 to around 2,000, but the sect continued operating, although no further attacks were recorded. Members continued to operate a computer assembly factory and retail stores, as well as staging rock concerts and seminars.
To dissociate itself from the gas attacks, Aum Shinrikyo changed its name to Aleph, after the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Bibliography
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