Victims of 1995 Tokyo subway nerve gas attack still suffering aftereffects: survey
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TOKYO — About 60% of victims in the March 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system had the persisting condition of their “eyes getting tired easily” as of 2023, according to a nonprofit group’s survey.
It is believed that victims are still suffering from aftereffects of the sarin gas incident by the Aum Shinrikyo cult at rates similar to five years after the attack. The findings were compiled by the Recovery Support Center, a nonprofit group that supports victims of the attack, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the incident on March 20. The latest survey was conducted between September and November 2023, and received responses from 195 people.
The nonprofit was established in 2001, and volunteer doctors have continued to provide free medical examinations to victims. After the first survey was conducted by volunteer doctors in 2000, the group has continued to ascertain the state of victims. In the latest analysis, the group compared the results of six surveys: five surveys every five years between 2000 and 2020, and one in 2023.
In 2023, 28 years after the incident, 59.5% of the respondents reported “eyes get tired easily” as a symptom. This figure was 61.4% in 2000, and has remained around 60% since.
The percentage of respondents who said their “eyes get blurry and it becomes difficult to see” was 59.0% in 2023. In 2005, this percentage was 55.3%, and has since remained around 50%.
Content retrieved from: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250304/p2a/00m/0na/021000c.
