30 years later, we’re still learning lessons from Aum attack
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We cannot forget the day in 1995 when a terrorist attack in the nation’s capital abruptly and tragically shattered so many lives.
March 20 marks the 30th anniversary of the sarin nerve gas attack by the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult. This indiscriminate act of mass murder, in which 14 people were killed and more than 6,000 injured by the poison released in trains of three subway lines in central Tokyo, shocked the world.
What was particularly chilling was that most of the perpetrators were young people who had once been diligent, earnest students.
It remains crucial to grapple with the profound questions raised by this attack. Why were these individuals drawn to the cult, and how did they become capable of such a heinous crime?
MULTIFACETED INVESTIGATION IS ESSENTIAL
The terror attack, along with the Great Hanshin Earthquake that struck Kobe and its vicinity about two months earlier, prompted significant changes in society.
In response, the government established a crisis management center in the prime minister’s office.
Amid public debate over fundamental human rights, such as freedom of religion and freedom of association, the law regulating subversive organizations was enacted. This law granted authorities the power to conduct on-site inspections of organizations that had committed acts of indiscriminate mass murder.
Despite early warning signs, such as the sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in 1994, the police failed to conduct forced searches of the religious organization and were slow to act on these ominous indications.
Law enforcement authorities faced mounting pressure to reassess their approach to large-scale investigations.
Following the subway attack, police were criticized for making numerous arrests based on unrelated charges.
The high-profile actions of senior cult members, who repeatedly appeared on television after the attack, ultimately served as propaganda for the organization. This raised serious questions about the media’s approach to covering the cult.
Regrettably, despite the profound social implications of the incident, neither the government nor the Diet made sufficient efforts to thoroughly investigate and analyze the facts.
The death sentences of 13 former cult leaders, including Aum Shinrikyo founder Chizuo Matsumoto (also known as Shoko Asahara), were carried out in 2018.
Throughout his trial, Matsumoto remained largely silent, and it cannot be said that the true reasons why his disciples resorted to manufacturing and dispersing nerve gas have been fully revealed.
Few of the former senior cult members involved in the attack fit the typical image of a brutal criminal.
Among them were a former medical student with a medical license, a former University of Tokyo student who specialized in particle physics, and a former Waseda University graduate student who studied applied physics.
To fully understand the scope of these crimes, it is crucial to continue a multifaceted investigation involving experts from various fields, including religion, social psychology and counter-terrorism.
CULT’S RECRUITMENT PERSISTS
Last month, Senshu University students organized a forum to discuss lessons learned from the cult’s crimes. The generation born after the incident shared their research findings and engaged in meaningful discussions.
A male third-year student from Tamagawa University, who aspires to become a teacher, emphasized, “The subway sarin attack is not just a historical event; its effects are still felt today.”
Another student highlighted that victims continue to suffer from aftereffects. “We don’t know when we might be targeted by the cult’s recruitment efforts or impacted by its activities,” the student said. “It’s crucial to remain aware of potential risks and to pass these lessons on to future generations.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15676329.
