In shock: Subway passengers affected by the sarin nerve gas released in central Tokyo subway trains being taken to hospital on March 20, 1995. – AP
IT has been 30 years since the sarin gas attack by the Aum Supreme Truth cult on the Tokyo subway system. Lessons learned from this incident that caused so much harm must be utilised to ensure that another indiscriminate terrorist attack never happens again.
In the attack, Aum targeted the morning commute hour, killing 14 people and injuring more than 6,000 by releasing highly poisonous sarin gas on subway trains on March 20, 1995. Under the direction of cult founder Chizuo Matsumoto, Aum followers and others had been arming themselves before the crime was committed.
For a spate of crimes committed by the cult, including the murder of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family, as well as another sarin attack, which took place in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, 190 people – including the cult’s senior members – were found guilty. Thirteen members, including Matsumoto, were executed in 2018.
The harm inflicted by sarin is by no means a thing of the past. Some victims still have numbness throughout their body and others suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Because this was an unprecedented incident, it is important for the Japanese government to understand in detail the current situation of victims and gather data on the toxicity of sarin and its persistent symptoms. This information will be needed to rescue victims should a similar attack ever occur again.
Aleph, a successor organisation to Aum, was ordered to pay over ¥1bil (RM30mil) to victims and others in response to the incidents, but it has not complied with the court order. The organisation is suspected of concealing its assets by transferring them to affiliated corporations, according to Japan’s Public Security Intelligence Agency.
Victims and bereaved family members are ageing. The government should support relief for them, such as by seizing Aleph’s assets on their behalf and distributing the recovered funds to them.
Three successor organisations, including Aleph, have reportedly inherited the ideology of Matsumoto, who engaged in indiscriminate terrorist attacks. They allegedly have a total of 1,600 members.
The organisations are posing as yoga groups, among other things, to recruit young people and others who are unaware of their true nature, and about 70% of new members are said to be in their teens to 30s.
A sense of stagnation is being felt across Japanese society. With the start of the new school year and beginning period for many new company employees, some people must be having anxiety about what their new lives will be like. It is hoped that people will exercise caution around organisations that take advantage of this kind of state of mind.
In this undated file photo, cult guru Shoko Asahara (left) of Aum Shinrikyo walks with Yoshihiro Inoue, then a close aid, in Tokyo. – AP
Aum managed to expand significantly without being noticed in society, and it went on to commit heinous organised crimes. The emergence of another Aum must not be allowed.
The sarin gas attack on the subway system shocked the world as an unprecedented chemical terrorist attack. It became a turning point for the police to rethink antiterrorism measures. Specialised units for nuclear, biological, and chemical terrorism were created in the wake of the sarin attack.
With progress in science and technology, the risk of cyberterrorism has increased. The police and Self-Defense Forces should strengthen the defence of Japanese society in anticipation of the various situations that could arise. – The Yomiuri Shimbun/Asia News Network
