Criminal Story 3

The Tokyo sarin gas attack, also known as the Subway Sarin Incident, was a terrorist attack that occurred on March 20, 1995, in Tokyo, Japan. The attack was carried out by members of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, who released deadly sarin gas in the subway system during the morning rush hour. The attack resulted in the deaths of 13 people, with over 5,000 others injured, many of whom suffered long-term health problems as a result.

Background of Aum Shinrikyo: Aum Shinrikyo was a religious cult founded in 1984 by Shoko Asahara, a self-proclaimed messiah who claimed to be able to see the future and possess supernatural powers. The cult's teachings combined elements of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity, with a strong emphasis on apocalyptic prophecies and the belief that the end of the world was imminent. The cult grew rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s, attracting thousands of followers, including many highly educated and affluent individuals.

Aum Shinrikyo's beliefs and practices became increasingly bizarre and violent over time, with members engaging in acts of violence and terrorism against perceived enemies of the cult. They stockpiled weapons and chemical agents, and Asahara began to preach about the need for a holy war to bring about the end of the world. The group also began experimenting with sarin gas, a deadly nerve agent that causes convulsions, paralysis, and respiratory failure in its victims.

The Attack: On the morning of March 20, 1995, members of Aum Shinrikyo carried out a coordinated terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway system. They placed bags filled with liquid sarin on five different subway trains during the morning rush hour and punctured the bags with umbrellas before leaving the trains. The sarin vaporized and spread throughout the crowded subway cars, leading to a mass panic as passengers began to convulse and collapse.

The attack was carefully planned and executed, with cult members positioning themselves near the exits of the subway stations to prevent people from escaping. The subway cars were also chosen carefully to maximize the impact of the attack, with the cult targeting lines that passed through busy areas of the city during the morning rush hour. In total, 13 people died from the attack, with thousands of others suffering from a range of symptoms, including nausea, blurred vision, and difficulty breathing.

Aftermath: The attack caused widespread panic and chaos in Tokyo, with emergency services struggling to deal with the scale of the incident. The Japanese government declared a state of emergency, and the entire subway system was shut down for several days while police searched for evidence and the cult's members.

In the following weeks and months, police carried out a massive crackdown on Aum Shinrikyo, raiding the group's headquarters and arresting many of its members. Shoko Asahara was eventually arrested in May 1995 and charged with multiple counts of murder and terrorism. He was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to death, along with several other cult members.

The attack had a profound impact on Japanese society, leading to a greater focus on counterterrorism measures and the regulation of religious cults. The incident also raised concerns about the spread of extremist ideologies and the potential for similar attacks in other parts of the world.

Conclusion: The Tokyo sarin gas attack was a shocking act of domestic terrorism that had a lasting impact on Japanese society. The attack was carefully planned and executed by members of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, who had been experimenting with deadly chemical agents for years. The attack resulted in the deaths of 13 people and injured thousands of others, causing widespread panic and chaos in Tokyo.