TERRORISM Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara hanged for mass murder: reports

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2...hara-hanged-mass-murder-reports/#.Wz652NVKjIU

Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara hanged for mass murder: reports

BY REIJI YOSHIDA
STAFF WRITER

JUL 6, 2018
ARTICLE HISTORY PRINT SHARE

Shoko Asahara, founder of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo and mastermind behind the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system — and a number of other horrific crimes in the 1980s and ’90s — was executed on Friday, according to news reports.

In total, Asahara, 63, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, was found guilty for his role in 13 crimes that led to the deaths of 27 people that later was increased to29. In the Tokyo subway attack, 13 people were killed and more than 6,000 injured.

The death penalty for the guru of the now-disbanded cult was first handed down by the Tokyo District Court in February 2004 and finalized by the Supreme Court in September 2006.

The crimes he was convicted of also include the murders of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto, his wife and their 1-year-old son in November 1989 and another sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in June 1994. That attack killed eight and left about 600 injured.

Asahara’s execution was delayed while the lengthy court proceedings involving other key Aum followers accused of complicity in the crimes played out, all of which concluded on Jan. 25 of this year.

In addition to Asahara, 191 Aum members were indicted over a number of criminal acts — including murders, attempted murders, abductions and the production of deadly nerve gases and illegal automatic rifles. Twelve have had their death penalty sentences finalized.

The hanging of Asahara has in some ways closed the curtain on the shocking crimes and dramatic events staged by Aum. But it also leaves several critical questions unanswered, because even during his trial, Asahara never explained the actual motivations for the crimes.

Over the past 10 years, the guru reportedly turned down all requests from outside the prison for a meeting, even from family members. During the trials and interviews with his lawyers, Asahara often remained silent or uttered words that no one could clearly understand. The difficulty in communicating with him prompted his counsel to claim that he was not mentally competent to stand trial.

In 2006, the Supreme Court, however, rejected a special appeal and finalized the death sentence. The court ruled Asahara was legally sane and thus could be held responsible for his actions.

Asahara, born in 1955 in what today is the city of Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, formed the predecessor of Aum Shinrikyo in 1984.

By around October 1988, the number of lay followers surged to between 3,000 and 4,000 and that of live-in followers was estimated at between 100 and 200.

In that period, the cult had head offices in Tokyo and Kamikuishiki, a village in Yamanashi Prefecture. It also had branch offices in Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Sapporo, New York and Russia.

In the vast compound in Kamikuishiki at the foot of Mount Fuji, Aum Shinrikyo, under the instruction of Asahara, built and operated a chemical plant to mass-produce sarin and another to assemble illegal automatic rifles.

The doomsday cult successfully recruited a number of highly-educated young people, including doctors and scientists, some of whom took part in the crimes — a fact that particularly shocked the Japanese public.

Many Aum members were featured on live TV shows, openly defending the group. The media exposure helped solidify the group’s lasting impact on the public’s collective consciousness.

In particular, the 1995 sarin attack in Tokyo is remembered as a watershed event that deeply damaged the long-held sense of security felt by many in postwar Japan.

Asahara claimed that Armageddon was inevitable and justified the murders of certain people by insisting they would send their souls to the heavenly world, according to court transcripts.

During a hearing in June 2001, Tomomasa Nakagawa, a former doctor who played a key role in the cult’s production of sarin gas, begged his guru to explain what he was actually thinking when he instructed followers to commit illegal, violent acts.

In response, Asahara, with his eyes closed, just mumbled words no one could understand, according to media reports.

“I didn’t enter the priesthood (of Aum Shinrikyo) to produce sarin or choke someone’s neck,” Nakagawa tearfully said during the hearing.

“Please explain your ideas to the people who believed in you,” Nakagawa recalled saying in vain.

Nakagawa himself is on death row for the roles he played in the production of sarin gas and the 1989 murders of the Sakamoto family.
 

lisa

Veteran Member
to this day you won't find any trash bins in train stations or public transport places because thats where some of the sarin gas was deposited.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.yahoo.com/news/profiles-7-doomsday-cult-members-executed-japan-081048574.html

Profiles of the 7 doomsday cult members executed in Japan

Associated Press • July 6, 2018

TOKYO (AP) — Japan executed the leader and six followers of a doomsday cult Friday for a series of deadly crimes including a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 13 people in 1995. A brief look at the executed:
___

SHOKO ASAHARA, 63, founded the Aum Shinrikyo cult by mixing religions and social disillusionment to attract followers, many of them top university graduates working in science and medicine. They ran sham computer and health-food businesses and collected donations to amass wealth to buy land and equipment. Asahara was convicted in the subway attack; a deadly 1994 sarin attack in Matsumoto, Japan; the 1989 killing of an anti-Aum lawyer and his family and six other murder cases. During his eight years on trial, Asahara rarely spoke and never acknowledged responsibility or apologized.
___

TOMOMASA NAKAGAWA, 55, had been a doctor and helped the cult produce sarin and VX nerve agents. He was convicted in 11 crimes in which more than 20 people were killed. Nakagawa reportedly made an early identification of VX as the method used to assassinate the North Korean leader's half brother in February 2017. Japanese media reported he sent a letter to toxicologist Anthony Tu, who has investigated the cult's crimes, in which Nakagawa wrote that VX was a possibility before Malaysian investigators announced their findings in the death of Kim Jong Nam.
___

MASAMI TSUCHIYA, 53, was a key figure in Aum's production of sarin and other deadly weapons. A chemist who studied at the Tsukuba University graduate school, Tsuchiya joined the cult in 1991 through a yoga class he took as treatment for whiplash he suffered in a car accident. He headed the cult's sarin development and production and was convicted for producing sarin, VX and other chemical weapons. Initially Tsuchiya expressed strong attachment to Asahara's teachings but later apologized to the victims and urged Asahara to tell the truth.
___

SEIICHI ENDO, 58, graduated from a veterinary school in Hokkaido and studied virus and genetic engineering at Kyoto University graduate school before joining the cult. Asahara ordered him to produce sarin, but Endo said in court he did so without knowing its purpose. He also worked on botulism but failed to develop it into a biological weapon. Endo was convicted in two sarin attacks and an attempted VX attack.
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YOSHIHIRO INOUE, 48, was known as the cult's "genius of training" and headed its intelligence unit. He rose quickly to become Asahara's right-hand man and was the coordinator of the subway attacks. Inoue became critical of Asahara later and testified as a trial witness for prosecutors, though his statements flip-flopped. His testimony that Asahara ordered the subway gas attack was a determining factor in holding Asahara responsible. He filed for retrial in March 2018 in a last-ditch effort to gain immunity from execution.
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TOMOMITSU NIIMI, 54, led a unit of the cult responsible for capturing members who tried to escape. He also was a getaway driver who helped one of the cult members flee after releasing gas in the subway. He was sentenced to death for that attack and other crimes. Throughout his trial, Niimi continued to show loyalty to Asahara and called the crimes "murders based on religious intent."
___

KIYOHIDE HAYAKAWA, 68, was the only one executed who was not involved in the subway attack. He earned a master's degree in city engineering and landed a job in a major construction company before joining Aum in 1987 as one of its earliest members. Hayakawa had an interest in pseudoscience and UFOs. As the cult's "construction minister," Hayakawa was responsible for land acquisition and expansion. He oversaw an effort to make machine guns and the purchase of weapons and a helicopter via Russia. He was convicted in the 1989 murders of the anti-Aum lawyer and his family.

22 reactions
 

ShadowMan

Designated Grumpy Old Fart
Crazy and evil know no limits, and obviously being educated and intelligent is no protection from such insanity.
 

Housecarl

On TB every waking moment
For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/worl...eadly-sarin-attack/ar-BBL3Jzm?ocid=spartanntp

Japan executes 6 more cult members of deadly sarin attack

9 hrs ago

TOKYO, July 26 (Reuters) - Japan executed six more members of the doomsday cult group Aum Shinrikyo on Thursday that perpetrated the deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995.

All 13 members of the cult that were on death row have now been executed, after Chizuo Matsumoto, the cult's former leader who went by the name Shoko Asahara, and six other members of the group were hanged on July 6.

The attack killed 13 people and injured at least 5,800 people, some permanently, shattering the nation's myth of public safety.

The Aum Shinrikyo, or Aum Supreme Truth cult, which mixed Buddhist and Hindu meditation with apocalyptic teachings, staged a series of crimes including simultaneous sarin gas attacks on subway trains during rush hour in March 1995. Sarin, a nerve gas, was originally developed by the Nazis.

"It was unprecedented level of extreme and serious crimes which must not happen again and terrified not only people in Japan but also foreign countries and shook the society," Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa told a news conference.

"I ordered executions based on extreme careful consideration."

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Michael Perry)
 

Garryowen

Deceased
Justice delayed is justice denied. There is little deterrent effect in waiting 20+ years. We have the same problem.
 

Oreally

Right from the start
japanese prisons are very, very harsh. you can't talk at meals, have to sit up straight. no conversation between cells, limited recreation opportunities.

20 years would be hell

https://gaijinass.com/2017/03/30/brutal-realities-of-prison-in-japan/

Some of the rules include:

Where and how to place each item inside the cell.
Where to write anything; only in specified notebooks which are inspected. Not on scarp of paper or inside a magazine, or face punishment.
How to sit or stand during cell inspection, and during “leisure” time: No leaning, laying down or random walking around the cell.
How to sleep. On your back or side, never the stomach. Do not cover your face while sleeping. Do not read, talk or move around during sleep time.
How to march. Moving around the prison will be done by marching. Infractions result in punishments.
When and how to speak. Strict silence is observed the majority of the time. During leisure times, talking should be done in a low voice so as not to disturb others. Utmost respect must be used when addressing guards or punishments will follow.
Where to look. Looking at a guard can result in a punishment. Looking up during meal time is punishable. Opening eyes during “reflection time” when eyes should be closed is punishable.
 

lisa

Veteran Member
Japanese prisons are definitely punitive in nature. And if you are on death row...no special "last meal" in fact you aren't even informed when your execution will take place...they just come and get you.

I've read about sentences of 3 years for stealing a $2 food item. Confessions are often times co-orced and the conviction rates are suspiciously very high.
 
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