Japan victims voice fears 30 years after sarin subway attack
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Three decades since Shizue Takahashi’s husband and a dozen others were killed with a nerve agent on Tokyo’s subway, she fears Japan could see a repeat of the doomsday cult attack.
Takahashi, whose husband worked for the metro system, told AFP it was “unbelievable” that successor groups to Aum Shinrikyo, the sect that carried out the attack, remain active today.
“In this volatile society, in Japanese society where it is not so easy any more to make a living, some say people are more prone to be attracted to cults,” the 78-year-old said.
“I feel, with a real sense of crisis, that the same thing could happen again.”
Aum members released sarin on five trains during morning rush hour on March 20, 1995 — killing 13 people while a 14th victim, who suffered severe brain damage, died in 2020.
More than 5,800 others were injured in the attack, for which the wild-haired, nearly blind cult leader Shoko Asahara was executed in 2018 along with 12 disciples.
On the day, five men, one on each train, dropped bags of sarin on the floor and pierced them with umbrellas.
The assailants quickly disembarked but the carriages filled with deadly fumes as the trains drove on.
Passengers first noticed a smell that irritated their eyes and nose. Then they began to gasp for air and some collapsed, convulsing or foaming at the mouth.
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