Three decades have passed since the deadly sarin nerve gas incident in Tokyo’s subway system, yet survivors and bereaved families are still in pursuit of justice.
The assault, orchestrated by cult members on March 20, 1995, resulted in the death of thirteen individuals and the affliction of thousands who were exposed to the toxic gas within the city’s subway carriages. This event continues to stand out as one of the most horrifying acts of violence in Japan, a nation recognized for its generally low levels of crime.
The cult, Aum Shinrikyo or Supreme Truth, has since disbanded. Its founder, Shoko Asahara, and 12 of his disciples were executed in 2018.
But 1,600 former members still operate under renamed groups and have ignored an order to pay damages to survivors and bereaved families.
Shizue Takahashi, who lost her spouse, a deputy station manager, during the attack, was abruptly plunged into despair. The couple had only just begun to relish some quality time together after devoting years to raising their three children.
“My life is still being ruined by Aum and its successor groups,” said Takahashi, 78. “We need to carry on and not let the memories fade.”
People gasped for air and collapsed
At 8 a.m. during the morning rush, five cult members got on separate train cars on three subway lines converging at Kasumigaseki, Japan’s government center, each dropping bags of sarin on the train floors. They punctured the bags with umbrellas, releasing the gas inside the train cars.
Within minutes, commuters poured out of the trains onto the platforms, rubbing their eyes and gasping for air. Some collapsed. Others fled onto the streets where ambulances and rescue workers in hazmat suits gave first-aid.
A subway sign, center top, is seen at the Kodenmacho station, that was affected by a deadly sarin nerve gas attack 30 years ago, in Tokyo, as a passenger gets out of its exit Thursday, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Kazumasa Takahashi didn’t know the puddle he was cleaning on the subway car floor was sarin. He collapsed as he removed a bag — a sacrifice some survivors say saved lives — and never woke up.
The attack sickened more than 6,000. A 14th victim died in 2020 after battling severe after-effects.
The subway gassing happened after a botched police investigation failed to link the cult to earlier crimes, says Yuji Nakamura, a lawyer for the survivors and the bereaved families. “It could have been prevented,” he said.
Two days after the gassing, Tokyo police, carrying a caged canary to detect poison, raided Aum’s headquarters near Mount Fuji, where the cultists lived together, trained and produced sarin. Asahara was found in a hidden compartment.
Apocalyptic cult
Born Chizuo Matsumoto in 1955, Asahara founded Aum Shinrikyo in 1984. The cult combined Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and yoga, and attracted young people disillusioned with materialism. He taught that death could elevate their spirits and justified killing as a virtue.
Followers paid to drink Asahara’s bathwater and wore electrical head gear they believed synchronized their brain waves with the guru’s. He prophesized an imminent apocalypse, which only true believers would survive.
Asahara gathered doctors, lawyers and scientists from Japan’s top universities as his closest aides.
Using donations from followers and earnings from yoga classes and health food businesses, they bought land and equipment. Asahara’s scientists developed and manufactured sarin, VX and other chemical and biological weapons.
In 1989, its members killed Tsutsumi Sakamoto, a lawyer who opposed the cult, his wife and baby boy. Their criminal activities escalated after their defeat in the 1990 parliamentary elections. A 1994 sarin attack in the central Japanese city of Matsumoto killed eight and injured more than 140 others.
In all, Aum killed 27 people in more than a dozen attacks that culminated in the subway gassing. It was part of a plot by Asahara to hasten Armageddon, envisioning overthrowing the government.
Still seeking redress
Shizue Takahashi attended most of the Aum criminal trials. She has lobbied for government support, winning the enactment of a law to support crime victims and government benefits of 3 billion yen ($20 million) for more than 6,000 survivors and bereaved families of the Aum crimes.
The government has also enacted laws banning sarin production and possession, and restricted the activities of groups linked to mass killings. Police have since established nuclear, biological and chemical weapons units and beefed up training.
Aum’s main successor, Aleph, has ignored a court order to pay 1 billion yen ($6.7 million) in compensation to survivors and bereaved families. The group has allegedly hidden billions of yen of income from yoga and spiritual seminars.
Many of the subway gassing survivors still suffer health problems and trauma, according to support groups.
Takahashi and others last week called on Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki to do more to accelerate compensation by Aleph and keep them under close watch.
Survivors and their supporters say lessons have not been sufficiently shared with the public.
Shoko Egawa, a journalist and expert on Aum crimes, says attention on the group has largely focused on its crimes rather than teaching people to stay away from dangerous cults. “There is still a lot to learn from (the Aum problems), including how they attracted followers, so that we can prevent people from getting their lives ruined by cults,” Egawa said.
Takahashi recently launched a website that compiles articles and comments by survivors, lawyers and writers, including Haruki Murakami’s 2007 article about his 1997 book “Underground.”
Aum’s remnants
At its peak, the cult boasted more than 10,000 followers in Japan and 30,000 in Russia and elsewhere. Aum has disbanded, but about 1,600 people belonging to Aleph and two smaller groups in Japan still practice Asahara’s teachings, said the Public Security Intelligence Agency, which monitors the groups.
Minoru Kariya, whose father was killed by Aum members in early 1995 while he was trying to get his sister to quit the cult, said authorities need to do much more to tackle the threat.
“It’s scary that they still exist and are operating as organizations and recruiting new followers,” he said.
