The Crimes of Aum Shinrikyō

Asahara Shōkō, born Matsumoto Chizuo, founded Aum Shinrikyō in February of 1984. The group was originally called Aum Shinsen no Kai, but changed to Aum Shinrikyō in June of 1987. It began as a yoga and meditation studio, but would eventually become one of Japan’s most notorious terrorist organization (Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese cult behind the Tokyo sarin attack)(Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket)(Chronology of major events related to Aum Shinrikyo cult).

Asahara suffered from childhood glaucoma, resulting in blindness in his left eye and partial blindness in his right. Due to this blindness, he attended a school for the blind where he terrorized his class- and dorm-mates. Asahara had better vision than most other students and seemed to feel he was better than them. When his dorm supervisor told him to stop telling his dormmates to break curfew, he threatened to set the dorm on fire. He was sent to a counselor, who he threatened to shoot. After threatening him, Asahara then claimed that they were only words, and that what he said wasn’t illegal unless he actually went through with the actions. Some classmates said he seemed to have an alter ego – sometimes he could be very kind, but most of the time he was cruel. After graduating high school, Asahara went on to study acupuncture and Chinese medicine in 1977, eventually opening a clinic. He was married in 1978 to Matsumoto Tomoko, with whom he fathered six children. They opened a store selling Chinese medicine and miracle tonics, but Asahara was convicted in 1981 of practicing pharmacy without a license and selling unregulated medications. The fine Asahara had to pay was the equivalent of $2,000 today, and the conviction would result in Asahara and his wife both feeling anger with the Japanese government  (Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket).

After his conviction, Asahara began studying various religions and other areas of similar study. He focused on Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese astrology, esoteric Christianity, esoteric Buddhism, meditation, yoga, and western esotericism. In 1984, Asahara opened a yoga and meditation studio, where the first form of Aum Shinrikyō began, then called Aum Shinsen no Kai, meaning “The Immortal Mountain Wizard Association.” Asahara’s bizarre claims of superhuman abilities began with the claim he was capable of levitation in 1985. Members began to report that he had visited the Himalayas and achieved what they called, “ultimate salvation.” They also claimed Asahara had met with the Dalai Lama and learned secrets of Tibetan Buddhism from him. Further claims of superhuman abilities included being able to see through walls and meditate underwater for six hours (Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese cult behind the Tokyo sarin attack)(Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket)(Chronology of major events related to Aum Shinrikyo cult).

The group finally became Aum Shinrikyō in 1987 and were recognized as an official religion in Japan in 1989. The religion contained elements from Buddhism, Hinduism, apocaly[tic Christianity, and some of the teachings of Nostradamus. The group began to grow, targeting university students, a group susceptible to the group’s message of a simpler life due to academic pressure and the pressure of finding a job once finished with school. As the group grew, they became more and more extreme. Asahara had adopted Christianity’s end of days rhetoric and begun preaching it to his followers. He predicted a nuclear third world war would happen sometime in the late 1990s to early 2000s, specifying in a 1992 lecture at Osaka University that it would begin between 1996 and 1998. He claimed the war would start in the Middle East and the Gulf War was a precursor to the third world war that was coming. Eventually, Asahara would claim to be Christ himself and to be one of the only truly enlightened people in the world (Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese cult behind the Tokyo sarin attack)(Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket)(Chronology of major events related to Aum Shinrikyo cult).

Aum Shinrikyō had a long history of violent or potentially violent acts. On November 3, 1989, cult members broke into the house of Sakamoto Tsutsumi, a lawyer involved in taking down the Japanese Unification Church who had also begun the “Coalition of Help for Those Affected by Aum Shinrikyō.” Sakamoto was working on proving allegations made against the cult and planning a class action lawsuit against the group. He had received what was supposed to be Asahara’s blood in the mail on October 31st that year and had the blood tested, proving that Asahara was a normal human. This obviously did not go over well, which led to the break in and attack on November 3rd. The members who broke in hit Sakamoto over the head with a hammer before poisoning his wife, Satoko, and 14-month old son, Tatsukio, with potassium chloride. His wife died from the poison, while his son was suffocated by the cultists before Sakamoto himself was beaten to death. Their remains were disposed of in metal drums that were spread throughout Tokyo. The remains of the Sakamoto family would not be found until members arrested in 1995 confessed to the killings (Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese cult behind the Tokyo sarin attack)(Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket)(Chronology of major events related to Aum Shinrikyo cult).

Asahara and 24 other members of Aum Shinrikyō registered as candidates for the Japanese equivalent of the House of Representatives in the United States in 1990. Asahara received less than 2,000 votes and, whether you deem it luckily or unluckily, none of the members who ran were elected. The group was enraged by this loss and began to develop a hit list. The hit list uncluded people like the leader of Soka Gakkai, the leader of the institute of Human Happiness, and a cartoonist who had drawn satirical cartoons of the group. Asahara took 40 members to Zaire, in Africa, in 1992 to supposedly help ebola patients in the area. Given the group’s history, many believe they were trying to obtain samples of ebola to make a biological weapon (Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese cult behind the Tokyo sarin attack)(Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket)(Chronology of major events related to Aum Shinrikyo cult).

The group’s acts continued in October of 1993, with an attempted attack on the wedding of Prince Naruhito. Using a car, cultists sprayed botulinum toxin in the hopes that wedding guests would die from the toxin and the group could point to the United States, potentially kickstarting the war Asahara was predicting. Luckily for the wedding guests, the form of the toxin the group used was unstable and, while guests complained some, no one was injured. Twice that same year the group sprated bacillus anthracis, also known as anthrax, from the roof of their Tokyo headquarters. They were both testing the viability of their chemicals and planning to make propaganda against the United States. That autumn the group began construction of a facility meant to produce sarni in Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi Prefecture, but it was never completed (Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese cult behind the Tokyo sarin attack)(Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket)(Chronology of major events related to Aum Shinrikyo cult).

Things began to ramp up in 1994. Takimoto Taro, a lawyer helping members escape, was attacked with sarin gas. Takimoto was left with nerve damage and some vision loss from the nerve agent. The group attacked a neighborhood in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture using a refrigerated truck to disperse sarin gas throughout the neighborhood. The neighborhood was likely targeted because of the judges who lived there – they were involved with a land dispute with Aum Shinrikyō and it was predicted that the group was going to lose. A total of eight people died from the attack and approximately 500 were injured by the toxin. At the time, Aum Shinrikyō was not even suspected. Instead, investigators were focused more on one of the survivors. The group also targeted a journalist who was investigating the disappearance of Sakamoto, Egawa Shoko. 20 members were killed with VX gas for opposing Asahara. VX gas was used two more times in 1994 – in November, when they attempted to kill a man allegedly helping members escape, and in December, when they killed a man who was spying on them  (Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese cult behind the Tokyoarin attack)(Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket)(Chronology of major events related to Aum Shinrikyo cult).

The group tried to kill the leader of the Aum Supreme Truth Victims Group in January 1995, followed by another attempt on the Institute of Human Happiness and the murder of an escaped member’s brother in February.  Kariya Hiyoshi was the wealthy brother of an ex-member the group was searching for. The plan had been to force him to give up her location and he was imprisoned at their Kamikuishiki compound. Kariya died of an overdose of anesthetics and his remains were destroyed. The cult’s activities came to a head in March 1995 with the sarong gas attacks in the Tokyo Subway. The first attempt was on March 15th, when three briefcases were placed in the subway. The plan was that the briefcases would leak botulinum toxin, but the toxin was replaced by a dissenter with water. The attempt failed and the dissenter was killed. The group made a successful attempt five days later on March 20th. Members left 11 briefcases on several subway trains and used the sharpened tips of umbrellas they carried to poke holes in the bags of sarin in the briefcases. The sarin would leak and evaporate into the gaseous form, from which it would harm anyone it came into contact with. After piercing the bags, the members involved exited the trains immediately and met with getaway cars. Approximately 5,000 were hospitalized and 12 were killed. Another approximately 500 were injured. The group was officially ordered to be dissolved in October 1995 by the Tokyo District Court (Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese cult behind the Tokyo sarin attack)(Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket)(Chronology of major events related to Aum Shinrikyo cult).

Shortly after the attack, investigators raided the headquarters of Aum Shinrikyō and arrested 150 members. Asahara went into hiding until he was arrested on May 16th, found hiding in a small room on their compound. Asahara was hit with 13 indictments and charged with 27 murder counts. The case consisted of 257 hearings over a seven year period, though many felt the case was closed in September 1996 after the eighth hearing. Cult members testified that Asahara had ordered the attacks that took place. Former members have come forward claiming to have paid exorbitant amounts for rituals that involved Asahara’s hair and bath water, one former member even claiming to have laid approximately $8,000 in 1988 for a “blood initiation” ritual where they drank what was supposed to be Asahara’s blood. As the trial commenced, Asahara became more belligerent in the court. It must have been hard for someone who had always been able to manipulate people to lose that kind of power. On February 27, 2004, Asahara received a death sentence for his part in the attacks. His lawyers appealed the decision, but the appeal was dismissed in March 2006, and his special appeal was denied by the Supreme Court in September 2006. The court ruled him sane, meaning he could be held responsible for his actions and sealing his death sentence. The last members associated with the subway attack, Kikuchi Naoko and Takahashi Katsuya, were arrested in June 2012, 17 years after the attack, and received life in prison. In 2014, another member was arrested and was reportedly involved with two nomnings and the abduction of a 68-year old man. In March of 201 6, 58 foreigners suspected of connections to the group were forced to leave Montenegro. The group consisted of four people from Japan, 43 people from Russia, seven people from Belarus, three people from Ukraine, and one person from Uzbekistan. That April Russian raids targeted 25 properties believed to be connected to Aum Shinrikyō. The group is illegal in Russia and it is thought there were approximately 30,000 members in Russia at the time. Asahara and six of the 12 members on death row were executed on July 6, 2018, followed by the other six on the 26th. Asahara was cremated on July 9, 2018, and his remains were to be handed over to one of his daughters despite concerns that his remains could become central in new religious rituals  (Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese cult behind the Tokyo sarin attack)(Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket)(Chronology of major events related to Aum Shinrikyo cult).

Aum Shinrikyō has had two successor groups, Aleph and Hikari no Wa. After Asahara’s children took over the group, they renamed it Aleph to move away from the associations. Aleph was raided in 2017 after allegedly collecting tens of thousands of yen in fees from a woman without having her sign the proper paperwork. The group has also been accused of luring young people without disclosing their relation to Aum Shinrikyō or their status as a religious organization. Hikari no Wa was formed in 2007 by a former member of Aum Shinrikyō. While Aum Shinrikyō is listed as a terrorist organization in many countries, Aleph and Hikari no Was are both legal in Japan. Both are designated as dangerous and are under heightened surveillance. There are estimated to be 1,500 members between the two groups (Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese cult behind the Tokyo sarin attack)(Aum Shinrikyō: A timeline)(Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket)(Chronology of major events related to Aum Shinrikyo cult).

“Aum Shinrikyo: The Japanese Cult behind the Tokyo Sarin Attack.” BBC News, BBC, 6 July 2018, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35975069.

“Aum Shinrikyō: A Timeline.” Nippon.com, 30 May 2020, https://www.nippon.com/en/features/h00243/.

Iilluminaughtii, director. Aum Shinrikyo: From Cult to Domestic Terrorists | Corporate Casket. Youtube.com, 27 Apr. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi5lrJ1Es2g&t=1. Accessed 11 Sept. 2022.

News, Kyodo. “Chronology of Major Events Related to Aum Shinrikyo Cult.” Kyodo News+, KYODO NEWS+, 26 July 2018, https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2018/07/67d2f569d81f-chronology-of-major-events-related-to-aum-shinrikyo-cult.html.