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The lead=yes was a domestic chemical terrorist attack perpetrated on 20 March 1995, in Tokyo, Japan, by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult. In five coordinated attacks, the perpetrators released sarin, a nerve agent, on three lines of the Tokyo Metro (then Teito Rapid Transit Authority) during rush hour, killing 13 people, severely injuring 50 (some of whom later died), and causing temporary vision problems for nearly 1,000 others. The attack was directed against trains passing through Kasumigaseki and Nagatachō, where the National Diet (Japanese parliament) is headquartered in Tokyo.
The group, led by Shoko Asahara, had already carried out several assassinations and terrorist attacks using sarin, including the Matsumoto sarin attack nine months earlier. They had also produced several other nerve agents, including VX for assassination attempts, and attempted to produce Bacillus anthracis and botulinum toxin for bioterrorism. Asahara had been made aware of a police raid scheduled for 22 March and had planned the Tokyo subway attack in order to hinder police investigations into the cult and perhaps spark the apocalypse the leader of the group had prophesied.
In the raid following the attack, police arrested many senior members of the cult. Police activity continued throughout the summer, and over 200 members were arrested, including Asahara. Thirteen of the senior Aum management, including Asahara himself, were sentenced to death and later executed; many others were given prison sentences up to life. The attack remains the deadliest terrorist incident in Japan as defined by modern standards.
In 1987, the group rebranded itself and established a New York branch; the following year, it opened a headquarters in Fujinomiya City. Around this time, the mental health of Matsumoto (now going by the name Shoko Asahara) deteriorated – he developed a Hypochondriasis and expressed suicidal views.
In August 1989, the group was granted official religious corporation status by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, giving it privileges such as tax breaks and freedom from governmental oversight. This recognition caused dramatic growth, including an increase in net worth from less than to over (approximately to in 2024) over the next six years, as well as an increase in membership from around 20 members to around 20,000 by 1992.
The drastically increasing popularity of the group also saw an increase in violent behavior from its members. In the year preceding its recognition by the Tokyo government, a member of the cult – Terayuki Majima – had accidentally drowned during a ritual; his body was cremated, with the remaining bones ground up and scattered over a nearby lake. Majima's friend – a fellow member of the group – was murdered by members acting under Asahara's orders, after he became disillusioned and tried to leave.
Three months after recognition, six Aum Shinrikyo members were involved in the murder of Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family. Sakamoto had been working on a class-action lawsuit against the cult. Asahara had previously advanced the concept of
In 1990, Asahara announced that the group would run 25 candidates in the election that year to the Japanese Diet, under the banner of "Truth Party". Despite showing confidence in their ability to gain seats in the diet, the party received only 1,783 votes; the failure to achieve power legitimately, blamed by Asahara on an external conspiracy propagated by "Freemasons and Jews", caused him to order the cult to produce botulinum and phosgene in order to overthrow the Japanese government. As members became disillusioned with the group (following contact with the outside world made during the election campaign) and defected, an attitude among the remaining members that 'the unenlightened' did not deserve salvation became accepted.
Attempts to stockpile botulinum toxin proved unsuccessful. Seiichi Endo – one of the members tasked with acquiring botulinum toxin – collected soil samples from the Ishikari River, and attempted to produce the toxin using three capacity fermenters. In total, around 50 batches of of a crude broth were producedhowever, the cult did not attempt to purify the broth (which mostly would have consisted of growth medium; one member even fell into one of the fermenters and nearly drowned, but otherwise suffered no ill effects).
Despite mouse run by Tomomasu Nakagawa (another cult member assisting Endo) returning no toxic effects, in April 1990 the crude broth was loaded into three trucks equipped with custom spray devices, which was to be sprayed at two US naval bases, Narita airport, the Diet building, the Imperial Palace, and the headquarters of a rival religious group.
Simultaneously, Asahara announced that the coming apocalyptic war could not save people outside of the cult, and that members should attend a three-day seminar in Ishigakijima in order to seek shelter. The spraying attacks failed to cause any ill effects among the population but 1,270 people attended the seminar, many of them becoming devout monks.
With the intention of building a compound incorporating facilities such as a phosgene plant (as well as facilities to manufacture VX and chlorine gas), Aum Shinrikyo used 14 dummy companies to purchase acres of land in Namino (now part of Aso city), and began construction. However, public attitudes towards the cult had become very negative due to suspicions around the cult's illegal activities. These attitudes were exacerbated once it was revealed to the surrounding community that the group had acted illegally. A police investigation in October resulted in the arrests of several Aum members, causing Asahara to fear a police raid – he hence ordered the destruction of all biological and chemical weapon stockpiles, and for the cult to focus on legitimate, non-violent strategies only.
Murai was subsequently ordered to produce a small amount. Within a month, the necessary equipment had been ordered and installed, and of sarin had been produced via synthetic procedures derived from the five-step DHMP process as originally described by IG Farben in 1938, and as used by the Allies after World War II.
After this small quantity had been produced, Murai ordered Tsuchiya to produce about when Tsuchiya protested, noting that this level of scaling was not feasible in a research laboratory, a chemical plant was ordered to be built alongside the biological production facility in the Fujigamine district of Kamikuishiki, to be labeled Satyan-7 ('Truth'). The specialized equipment and substantial chemicals needed to run the facility were purchased using shell companies under Hasegawa Chemical, a chemical company already owned by Aum. At the same time, in September 1993, Asahara and 24 other cult members traveled from Tokyo to Perth, Australia, bringing generators, tools, protective equipment (including gas masks and respirators), and chemicals to make sarin.
After repurchasing chemicals confiscated by customs, the group chartered aircraft from Perth to Banjawarn Station, where they searched for uranium deposits to make nuclear weapons and may have tested the efficacy of the synthesized sarin on animals. They remained in Australia for eight days and attempted to return in October of the same year, but were denied visasBanjawarn Station was sold by Aum in October 1994 for ~AU$150,000 less than market rate. The new buyers noted that the previous owners wanted the property sold as soon as possible. The group left behind several drums of hazardous and toxic chemicals and empty bottles of sake strewn about the property. Following news of the subway attacks, the new owners became suspicious and contacted the Australian Federal Police, who inspected the property and found evidence of past chemical weapons testing.
The Satyan-7 facility was declared ready for occupancy by September 1993 with the capacity to produce about of sarin, being equipped with capacity mixing flasks within protective hoods, and eventually employing 100 Aum members; the UN would later estimate the value of the building and its contents at $30 million. (1996). 9780517705438, Crown Publishing. ISBN 9780517705438
Despite the safety features and often state-of-the-art equipment and practices, the operation of the facility was very unsafe – one analyst would later describe the cult as having a "high degree of book learning, but virtually nothing in the way of technical skill."
When the facility developed leaks, buckets were used to contain spills; several technicians inhaled fumes on repeated occasions, developing 'symptoms ranging from nosebleeds to convulsions', and toxic chemicals leaked from the site and into the soil. Citizens lodged complaints about foul smells several times, with the cult claiming that the US Army had assaulted the complex with poison gas. An accident at the plant in November 1994 would eventually force the suspension of the production of chemical agents.
By December, Tsuchiya had accumulated in total about of sarinfrom this, two separate assassination attempts were made on Daisaku Ikeda, leader of Soka Gakkai (a rival Japanese religious movement), in mid-1994. The first attack involved a truck with a spraying system, as previously used – the spraying system malfunctioned, spraying sarin into the truck itself, and mildly poisoning the operators. The second attack utilized a truck modified to include an evaporation system based on heating sarin over a gas stove fire; despite prior warnings from cult member Kazuyoshi Takizawa, the truck caught fire during the dissemination, severely poisoning the driver Tomomitsu Niimi and causing both Niimi and Murai – the operators – to flee. Niimi received an injection of atropine and pralidoxime iodine, saving his life.
Despite the failure of the attack, the members of Aum were convinced of sarin's efficacy, prompting Asahara to appoint Takizawa in charge of operations of Satyan-7; Tsuchiya was assigned to several other projects and would go on to manufacture several psychoactives – LSD, Phencyclidine, methamphetamine, mescaline, and phenobarbital to be used in the cult activities and brainwashing; he would also manufacture small amounts of phosgene, VX, soman, cyclosarin, and gunpowder. These compounds would be used in several attacks and assassination attempts:
| +Confirmed chemical attacks executed by Aum Shinrikyo !Date !Agent !Location !Fatalities !Injuries !Comments | |||||
| Late 1993-early 1994 | Sarin | Tokyo | 0 | 0 | Two failed attempts to assassinate Daisaku Ikeda, leader of Soka Gakkai. |
| 9 May 1994 | Sarin | Tokyo | 0 | 1 | Attempted assassination of Taro Takimoto, an attorney working on behalf of victims of the group – Takimoto was hospitalized but made a full recovery. |
| 27 June 1994 | Sarin | Matsumoto | 8 | 500 | Matsumoto sarin attack |
| 20 September 1994 | Phosgene | Yokohama | 0 | 1 | Attempted assassination of Shoko Egawa, a journalist who had covered the 1989 disappearance of Tsutsumi Sakamoto. |
| Late 1994 | VX | Various | 0–20 | unknown | VX was allegedly used to assassinate up to 20 dissident Aum members. |
| 28 November and 2 December 1994 | VX | Tokyo | 0 | 1 | Two attempts to murder a man assisting dissident Aum members, man hospitalized for 45 days. |
| 12 December 1994 | VX | Osaka | 1 | 0 | Posing as joggers, Aum members sprayed Tadahito Hamaguchi, a man who the cult believed was spying on them, with VX from a syringe. He was pronounced dead four days later. |
| 4 January 1995 | VX | Tokyo | 0 | 1 | Attempted assassination of Hiroyuki Nagaoka, head of the 'Aum Shinrikyo Victim's Group' – Nagaoka was hospitalized for several weeks. |
| February 1995 | VX | Tokyo | 0 | 0 | Attempted assassination of Ryuho Okawa, leader of the Happy Science, who had criticized the group – Okawa suffered no ill effects. |
| 20 March 1995 | Sarin | Tokyo | 14 | 1,000 | Tokyo subway sarin attack |
| 5 May 1995 | Hydrogen cyanide | Tokyo | 0 | 4 | Two vinyl bags – one containing sulfuric acid and the other containing sodium cyanide – were found, on fire, in the toilet of a subway station. Four injuries. |
Due to it being a warm evening, many residents had left their windows open while they sleptthe first emergency call was made at 11:09pm. Within an hour, a mass disaster caused by an unknown toxic gas had been declared. Fifty-eight people were hospitalised, of whom seven people died in the immediate aftermath, and an eighth 14 years later, and an additional 253 people sought medical care at outpatient clinics. Investigations after the Matsumoto attack were generally inconclusive, with the primary suspect being Yoshiyuki Kōno, whose wife had been left comatose by the attack. Blame would not be clearly attributed to Aum Shinrikyo until after the subway attack, despite tipoffs – in September 1994, two anonymous letters were sent to major media outlets in Japan – the first asserting that the group were responsible for the attack, and the second claiming that Matsumoto was an open-air 'experiment of sorts', noting that the results would have been much worse if sarin had been released indoors, such as in 'a crowded subway'.
Following an accident at Satyan-7 the next month (and complaints from the surrounding communities), a police investigation revealed methylphosphonic acid and isopropyl methylphosphonic acid – the former being a degradation product of sarin, and the latter being a definitive signature of both sarin production and of failures in production. However, there was no law at the time prohibiting the production of the nerve agents. This evidence was left unacted on, but was leaked to the Yomiuri Shimbun in January 1995, alerting Asahara and the cult, and causing Nakagawa and Endo to begin the process of destroying and/or hiding all nerve agents and biological weapons, which lasted until the end of February.
To aid in this, Tsuchiya was ordered by Endo to produce sarin again on 18 March – due to a lack of normal precursors as a result of the chemical destruction process, the sarin produced was of a lower quality and caused the normally colourless sarin to appear brown. of the chemical was manufactured and stored in a large container, from which it was decanted into plastic bags. Later forensic analysis found that the sarin utilised in the attack was roughly half as pure as that used in the Matsumoto attack.
Carrying their packets of sarin and umbrellas with sharpened tips, the perpetrators boarded their appointed trains. At prearranged stations, the sarin packets were dropped and punctured several times with the sharpened tip of the umbrella. Each perpetrator then got off the train and exited the station to meet his accomplice with a car. Leaving the punctured packets on the floor allowed the sarin to leak out into the train car and stations. This sarin affected passengers, subway workers, and those who came into contact with them. Sarin is the most volatile of the nerve agents,Tucker, Johnathan B. "Chemical Terrorism: Assessing Threats and Responses." Weapons of Mass Destruction and Terrorism, 2nd Ed. Ed. James J.F. Forest & Russell D. Howard: New York: McGraw-Hill, 2013, pg. 99. which means that it can quickly and easily evaporate from a liquid into a vapor and spread into the environment. People can be exposed to the vapor even if they do not come in contact with the liquid form of sarin. Because it evaporates so quickly, sarin presents an immediate but short-lived threat.Hongo, Jun, " Last trial brings dark Aum era to end ", Japan Times, 22 November 2011, pg. 3.
Hayashi eventually chose to use Akahata. Wearing a surgical mask commonly worn by the Japanese during cold and flu season, Hayashi boarded the first car of southwest-bound 07:48 Chiyoda Line train number A725K (JR East 203 series set 67) which was running on a through service from the Joban Line. As the train approached Shin-Ochanomizu Station, the central business district in Chiyoda, he punctured one of his two bags of sarin, leaving the other untouched, and exited the train at Shin-Ochanomizu.
The train proceeded down the line with the punctured bag of sarin leaking until 4 stops later at Kasumigaseki Station. There, the bags were removed and eventually disposed of by station attendants, of whom two died. The train continued on to the next station where it was completely stopped, evacuated and cleaned.
As Hirose was about to release the sarin, he heard loud noises on the usually quiet train, and believed the newspaper-wrapped packets had caught the attention of a schoolgirl. To avoid further suspicion, he got off the train at either Myogadani or Korakuen Station and moved to the third car instead of the second.
As the train approached Ochanomizu Station, Hirose dropped the newspapers to the floor, repeated an Aum mantra and punctured both sarin packets with so much force that he bent the tip of his sharpened umbrella. Both packets were successfully broken, and all of sarin was released onto the floor of the train. Hirose then departed the train at Ochanomizu and left via Kitamura's car waiting outside the station. Hirose's clumsy release of the sarin resulted in him accidentally poisoning himself, but he was able to administer an antidote stored in Kitamura's car.
At Nakano-sakaue Station, 19 stops later, two severely injured passengers were carried out of the train car (one of these two passengers was the only fatality from this attack). Station attendant Sumio Nishimura removed the sarin packets. The train continued with sarin still on the floor of the third car. Five stops later, at 08:38, the train reached Ogikubo Station, the end of the Marunouchi Line, where new passengers boarded the train. The train continued eastbound until it was finally taken out of service at Shin-Kōenji Station two stops later. The attack resulted in the abovementioned passenger's death, with a further 358 being seriously injured.
The train reached the end of the line, Ikebukuro, at 08:30 where it would head back in the opposite direction. Before it departed the train was evacuated and searched, but the searchers failed to discover the sarin packets. The train departed Ikebukuro Station at 08:32 as the Shinjuku-bound A801. Passengers soon became ill and alerted station attendants of the sarin-soaked newspapers at Kōrakuen Station. One station later, at Hongō-sanchōme, staff removed the sarin packets and mopped the floor, but the train continued on to Shinjuku. After arriving at 09:09, the train once again began to make its way back to Ikebukuro as the B901. The train was finally put out of service at Kokkai-gijidō-mae Station in Chiyoda at 09:27, one hour and forty minutes after Yokoyama punctured the sarin packet. The attack resulted in no fatalities, but over 200 people were left in serious condition.
The pair, with Takahashi driving, left Aum headquarters in Shibuya at 06:30. After purchasing a copy of Hochi Shimbun and wrapping his two sarin packets, Toyoda arrived at Naka-Meguro Station where he boarded the first car of northeast-bound 07:59 Hibiya Line train number B711T (Tobu 20000 series set 11). Sitting close to the door, he set the sarin packets on the floor. When the train arrived at the next station, Ebisu, Toyoda punctured both packets and got off the train. He was on the train for a total of two minutes, by far the quickest sarin drop out of the five attacks that day.
Two stops later, at Roppongi Station, passengers in the train's first car began to feel the effects of the sarin and began to open the windows. By Kamiyacho Station, the next stop, the passengers in the car had begun panicking. The first car was evacuated and several passengers were immediately taken to a hospital. Still, with the first car empty, the train continued down the line for one more stop until it was completely evacuated at Kasumigaseki Station. This attack killed one person and seriously injured 532 others.
After Sugimoto escorted him to Ueno Station, Hayashi boarded the third car of southwest-bound 07:43 Hibiya Line train number A720S (03 series set 10) and dropped his sarin packets to the floor. Two stops later, at Akihabara Station, he punctured two of the three packets, left the train, and arrived back at Aum headquarters with Sugimoto by 08:30. Hayashi made the most punctures of any of the perpetrators. By the next stop, passengers in the third car began to feel the effects of the sarin. Noticing the large, liquid-soaked package on the floor and assuming it was the culprit, one passenger kicked the sarin packets out of the train and onto Kodenmachō Station's subway platform. Four people in the station died as a result.
A puddle of sarin remained on the floor of the passenger car as the train continued to the next station. At 08:10, after the train pulled out of Hatchōbori Station, a passenger in the third car pressed the emergency stop button. The train was in a tunnel at the time, and was forced to proceed to Tsukiji Station, where passengers stumbled out and collapsed on the station's platform and the train was taken out of service.
The attack was originally believed to be an explosion and was thus labeled as such in media reports. Eventually, station attendants realized that the attack was not an explosion, but rather a chemical attack. At 08:35, the Hibiya Line was completely shut down and all commuters were evacuated. Between the five stations affected in this attack, 8 people died and 275 were seriously injured.
The five duos were:
| A725K | Hayashi Ikuo | Niimi Tomomitsu |
| A777 | Hirose Ken'ichi | Kitamura Kōichi |
| B801 | Toyoda Tōru | Takahashi Katsuya |
| B711T | Yokoyama Masato | Tonozaki Kiyotaka |
| A720S | Hayashi Yasuo | Sugimoto Shigeo |
Naoko Kikuchi, an eleventh member of Aum, was involved with producing the sarin.
In 1990, Hayashi resigned his job and left his family to join Aum in the monastic order Sangha, where he became one of Asahara's favorites and was appointed the group's Minister of Healing, as which he was responsible for administering a variety of "treatments" to Aum members, including sodium pentothal and electric shocks to those whose loyalty was suspect. These treatments resulted in several deaths.
Hayashi later reported to the Japanese police investigators about the sarin attacks and Aum activities post-Tokyo subway attack; his cooperation with the authorities resulted in numerous arrests and convictions, and he was given a life sentence instead of death penalty.
After releasing the sarin, Hirose showed symptoms of sarin poisoning. He was able to inject himself with the antidote (atropine sulphate) and was rushed to the Aum-affiliated Shinrikyo Hospital in Nakano for treatment. Medical personnel at the hospital had not been given prior notice of the attack and were consequently clueless regarding what treatment Hirose needed. When Kitamura realized that he had driven Hirose to the hospital in vain, he instead drove to Aum's headquarters in Shibuya where Ikuo Hayashi gave Hirose first aid.
Hirose was later sentenced to death for his role in the attack. His appeal against his death sentence was rejected by the Tokyo High Court on 28 July 2003 and the sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court of Japan on 6 November 2009. Hirose was executed at the Tokyo Detention House on 26 July 2018, along with five other cult members.
Kitamura is a native of Aichi Prefecture and joined Aum Shinrikyo in the late 1980s after reading a book written by leader Shoko Asahara.
During the attack he drove Hirose to the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line where Hirose boarded a train and punctured two bags of liquid sarin, causing the death of one person. Kitamura also aided cult fugitive Takeshi Matsumoto in hiding from justice between the months of March and April 1995 for the crime of kidnapping.
He was a fugitive until November 1996 when he was arrested in Tokorozawa, Saitama. In his first trial in May 1997 he admitted to the crimes and reportedly renounced the cult although he maintained the belief that Asahara had superpowers and his lawyer said that he still was under the spell of the cult.
Kitamura was sentenced to life imprisonment in November 1999, with the presiding judge chastising him for playing an "indispensable role" in the attack. The judge also highlighted his self-righteous motive for his crimes and pronounced the sentencing saying that:
After the verdict was read, his lawyer said that Kitamura was still under Asahara's spell which made him a victim of the cult as well. He also said that the court had dismissed this point adding that he would discuss with him whether to appeal to the higher courts.
In January 2002, the Tokyo High Court upheld Kitamura's sentence, which he called "too harsh" given his role in the attack. The court refuted his argument and highlighted his lack of remorse as motive for upholding the sentence.
Toyoda was sentenced to death. The appeal against his death sentence was rejected by the Tokyo High Court on 28 July 2003, and was upheld by the Supreme Court on 6 November 2009. Toyoda was executed at the Tokyo Detention House on 26 July 2018.
In 2015, Takahashi was convicted for his role in the attack and was sentenced to life in prison. His appeal was rejected by the Tokyo High Court in September 2016.
Asahara had at one time suspected Hayashi of being a spy. The extra packet of sarin he carried was part of "ritual character test" set up by Asahara to prove his allegiance, according to the prosecution. Hayashi fled after the attacks. He was arrested 21 months later, one thousand miles from Tokyo on Ishigaki Island. He was later sentenced to death. His appeal was rejected by the Tokyo High Court in 2008. Hayashi was executed at the Sendai Detention House on 26 July 2018.
By mid-afternoon, over 500 mildly affected victims had recovered from vision problems and were released from the hospital. Most of the remaining patients were well enough to go home the following day, and within a week only a few critical patients remained in hospital. The death toll on the day of the attack was eight, with four more dying subsequently. Hospitals only became aware that sarin was involved after about two hours, and then started administering 2-PAM and atropine.
Several of those affected were exposed to sarin only by helping those who had been directly exposed. Among these were passengers on other trains, subway workers and health care workers.
A 2008 law enacted by the Japanese government authorized payments of damages to victims of the gas attack, because the attack was directed at the government of Japan. As of December 2009, 5,259 people have applied for benefits under the law. Of those, 47 out of 70 have been certified as disabled and 1,077 of 1,163 applications for serious injuries or illnesses have been certified.Sasaki, Sayo, (Kyodo News), " Aum victim keeps memory alive via film ", The Japan Times, March 9, 2010, pg. 3.
Surveys of the victims in 1998 and 2001 showed that many were still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. In one survey 20% of 837 respondents complained that they felt insecure when on a train, while 10% answered that they tried to avoid any nerve-attack related news. Over 60% reported chronic eyestrain and said their vision had worsened. CDC website , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Aum Shinrikyo: Once and Future Threat?, Kyle B. Olson, Research Planning, Inc., Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
Until 2008, 12 fatalities resulting from the attack had been officially acknowledged. However, in 2008 a survey of victims was conducted by the prefectural police department for the purpose of allocating compensation. This survey determined that a man who had died the day after the attack had also been killed by sarin inhalation, thereby increasing the officially recognised death toll to 13. On 10 March 2020, another victim, who had been bedridden for 25 years since the attack, died. 56-year-old Sachiko Asakawa's cause of death was determined to be hypoxic encephalopathy caused by sarin poisoning; she is considered the attack's 14th fatality.
Forensic Science Laboratory had been gathering information on sarin based on lessons learned from the Matsumoto sarin attack, and by 10:30 a.m., they had discovered that the causative agent was sarin. In the hospitals, however, treatment was initiated even earlier than the laboratory report came in, assuming .
Dr. Nobuo Yanagisawa, the Director of Shinshu University Hospital and experienced with treating sarin poisoning after the Matsumoto attack, decided to share information with hospitals in Tokyo that were accepting victims. St. Luke's International Hospital, the hospital that had received the largest number of victims, had already begun treatment with the assumption of nerve agents, and after receiving a call from Dr. Yanagisawa at 10:15 a.m., they thought it was more likely to be sarin. After completing the call with St. Luke's Hospital, Dr. Yanagisawa faxed his report on the Matsumoto attack to major hospitals in Tokyo. A medical team from the Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital that had been dispatched to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Hospital was also to move to St. Luke's Hospital, arriving at 10:30 a.m. Dr. Hikaru Aoki, a physician being part of this team, had brought with him materials from a course he had taken the day before on "Medicine Against Chemical Weapons," just after taking it. This hospital was one of very few hospitals in Tokyo at that time to have the entire building wired and piped for conversion into a "field hospital" in the event of a major disaster. This proved to be a very fortunate coincidence as the hospital was able to take in most of the 600+ victims at Tsukiji Station, resulting in no fatalities at that station.
As there was a severe shortage of antidotes in Tokyo, sarin antidote stored in rural hospitals as an antidote for herbicide/insecticide poisoning was delivered to nearby Shinkansen stations, where it was collected by the workers of Suzuken, a drug wholesaling company, on a train bound for Tokyo. An Osaka company that manufactured 2-PAM rushed emergency supplies to Tokyo unsolicited on hearing the news.
The National Police Agency (NPA) and TMPD had already been preparing for a mandatory investigation of the Aum cult as a danger, and based on the lessons learned from the Matsumoto attack, had procured chemical protective clothing from its own budget and sent riot specialists and detectives to JGSDF Chemical School to receive training in dealing with sarin gas. However, since these police officers had only basic training and could not handle a large-scale terrorism attack of this magnitude, the TMPD recognized the need to immediately request assistance from the JGSDF. At 12:50 a.m., Yukio Aoshima, the Governor of Tokyo, issued a disaster relief request to the JGSDF 1st Division. The division's 32nd Infantry Regiment and Chemical Protection Platoon, along with a chemical protection platoon from the 12th Division, the 101st Chemical Protection Unit from the Eastern Army, and instructors from the Chemical School, were dispatched to decontaminate contaminated stations and vehicles.
As stated above, the Japanese police had already been planning a mandatory investigation into the Aum Shinrikyo cult, but following this sarin attack, the scale of the investigation was significantly expanded. Not only the TMPD's riot police, but also reinforcements from neighbouring prefectural police headquarters (PPH) were dispatched, mobilising a total of 1,800 riot police officers. This represented the largest-scale investigation of a single criminal case in Japanese history. On 21 March, the day before the mandatory investigation, a joint meeting was held between the National Police Agency, the Defense Agency, and the JGSDF. The JGSDF provided specialist expertise to the police while simultaneously commencing its own preparations in case police units were repelled by Aum. Aum possessed a Mil Mi-17 and unmanned crop-dusting helicopters, raising fears that these could be used to disperse sarin from the air. The JGSDF devised an operation whereby electronic warfare units would jam the radio control of the UAVs while AH-1S attack helicopters intercepted them in the air. Tank units and anti-aircraft artillery units were also to be deployed to support the police forces. Immediately prior to the police unit's entry, an OH-6D reconnaissance helicopter flew over the Aum facility to assess the potential damage area should sarin be dispersed. In the early morning of 22 March, police forces led by the Metropolitan Police Department's Seventh Riot Police Unit commenced a mandatory investigation of the Aum Shinrikyo facility in Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi. Contrary to the fears of the police and the JGSDF, Aum Shinrikyo only protested with unarmed followers and no resistance was offered with weapons whatsoever. However, the cult's founder Shoko Asahara, senior members of the organisation, and scientists involved in sarin production had all fled, and at this point, none could be arrested. Furthermore, this mandatory investigation had originally been planned as a rescue operation for a man who had been abducted while attempting to shelter his sister who had escaped the cult; this man could not be rescued either (it was later discovered he had already been killed).
In May 1995, Aum contacted an American group known as AWARE (Association of World Academics for Religious Education), founded by American scholar James R. Lewis, claiming that the human rights of its members were being violated. Lewis recruited human rights lawyer Barry Fisher, scholar of religion J. Gordon Melton, and chemical expert Thomas Banigan. They flew to Japan, with their travel expenses paid by Aum, and announced that they would investigate and report through press conferences at the end of their trip.
In the press conferences, Fisher and Lewis announced that Aum could not have produced the sarin with which the attacks had been committed. They had determined this, Lewis said, with their technical expert, based on photos and documents provided by the group.
However, the Japanese police had already discovered a sophisticated chemical weapons laboratory at Aum's main compound in March. The facility was capable of producing thousands of kilograms of sarin a year, far in excess of what was used. Later investigation showed that Aum not only created the sarin used in the subway attacks, but had committed previous chemical and biological weapons attacks, including a previous attack with sarin that killed eight people and injured 144. CW Terrorism Tutorial , A Brief History of Chemical Warfare, Historical Cases of CW Terrorism, Aum Shinrikyo, 2004 "Matsumoto sarin victim dies 14 years after attack" , Yomiuri Shimbun, 6 August 2008.
British scholar of Japanese religions Ian Reader, in a detailed account of the incident, reported that Melton "had few doubts by the end of his visit to Japan of Aum's complicity" and eventually "concluded that Aum had in fact been involved in the attack and other crimes" In fact, the Washington Post account of the final press conference mentioned Lewis and Fisher but not Melton. A Christian anti-cult website called Apologetic Index quoted the Washington Post article and implied that Melton had spoken in the press conference. Melton was, however, not mentioned in the original Washington Post article.
Lewis, on the other hand, maintained his opinion that Aum had been framed, and wrote that having the trip funded by Aum had been arranged "so that financial considerations would not be attached to our final report".
Reader concluded that, "The visit was well-intentioned, and the participants were genuinely concerned about possible violations of civil rights in the wake of the extensive police investigations and detentions of followers." However, it was ill-fated and detrimental to the reputation of those involved. While distinguishing between Lewis' and Melton's attitudes, Reader observed that Melton was criticized as well by both Japanese media and some fellow scholars. Using stronger words, Canadian scholar Stephen A. Kent chastised both Lewis and Melton for having put the reputation of the whole category of scholars of new religious movements at risk.
Asahara was sentenced to death by hanging on 27 February 2004, but lawyers immediately appealed the ruling. The Tokyo High Court postponed its decision on the appeal until results were obtained from a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation to determine whether Asahara was fit to stand trial. In February 2006, the court ruled that Asahara was indeed fit to stand trial, and on 27 March 2006, rejected the appeal against his death sentence. Japan's Supreme Court upheld this decision on 15 September 2006. Two re-trial appeals were declined by the appellate court. In June 2012, Asahara's execution was postponed due to the further arrests of the two remaining Aum Shinrikyo members wanted in connection with the attack. Japan does not announce dates of executions, which are by hanging, in advance of them being carried out. On 6 July 2018, the Ministry of Justice announced that Asahara had been executed that morning with six others of those principally involved.
On 27 November 2004, all the Aum trials concluded, excluding Asahara's, as the death sentence of Seiichi Endo was upheld by Japan's Supreme Court. As a result, among a total of 189 members indicted, 13 were sentenced to death, five were sentenced to life in prison, 80 were given prison sentences of various lengths, 87 received suspended sentences, two were fined, and one was found not guilty.Kyodo News, " Failed appeal ends last Aum murder trial", Japan Times, 22 November 2011, pg. 1.
In May and June 2012, the last two of the fugitives wanted in connection with the attack were arrested in the Tokyo and Kanagawa area.Kyodo News, "Last AUM Cult Fugitive Arrested In Tokyo, Ending 17 Years On The Run", 15 June 2012; wire service report Of them, Katsuya Takahashi, was taken into custody by police near a comic book cafe in Tokyo.
The group reportedly still has about 2,100 members, and continues to recruit new members under the name "Aleph", among others. Though the group has renounced its violent past, it still continues to follow Asahara's spiritual teachings. Members operate several businesses, though boycotts of known Aleph-related businesses, in addition to searches, confiscations of possible evidence and picketing by protest groups, have resulted in closures.
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