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Japan cult leader's hanging closes chapter on shocking crime

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Japan cult leader's hanging closes chapter on shocking crime
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Japan cult leader's hanging closes chapter on shocking crime

2018-07-07 16:56 Last Updated At:16:56

The executions Friday of a doomsday cult leader and six of his followers closed a chapter on one of Japan's most shocking crimes, the poison gas attack on rush-hour commuters in Tokyo's subway that killed 13 people and sickened more than 6,000.

The attack in 1995 woke up a relatively safe country to the risk of urban terrorism. The ensuing raid on the cult's compound near Mount Fuji riveted Japan, as 2,000 police officers approached with a canary in a bird cage. Shoko Asahara, the bearded, self-proclaimed guru who had recruited scientists and others to his cult, was found two months later, hiding in a compartment in a building ceiling.

A staff of Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun distributes their extra edition reporting doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara was executed, in Tokyo Friday, July 6, 2018. Asahara and six followers were executed Friday for their roles in a deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subways and other crimes, Japan's Justice Ministry said. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

A staff of Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun distributes their extra edition reporting doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara was executed, in Tokyo Friday, July 6, 2018. Asahara and six followers were executed Friday for their roles in a deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subways and other crimes, Japan's Justice Ministry said. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

The executions of the 63-year-old Asahara and the six cult members were announced by the Justice Ministry after they had been hanged, as is the practice in Japan. Two major newspapers issued extra editions and handed them out at train stations.

"This gave me peace of mind," Kiyoe Iwata, who lost her daughter in the subway attack, told broadcaster NHK. "I have always been wondering why it had to be my daughter and why she had to be killed. Now, I can pay a visit to her grave and tell her of this."

The executions were a long time coming, but they were expected as the last trial in the case had been completed and some of the condemned convicts had been transferred to other prisons earlier this year. Six other cult members remain on death row.

The subway attack was the most notorious of the cult's crimes, which was blamed for 27 deaths in all. Named Aum Shinrikyo, or Supreme Truth, it amassed an arsenal of chemical, biological and conventional weapons to carry out Asahara's escalating criminal orders in anticipation of an apocalyptic showdown with the government.

Japan's justice minister, who approved the hangings Tuesday, said she doesn't take executions lightly but felt these were justified because of the unprecedented seriousness of the crimes the seven committed.

"The fear, pain and sorrow of the victims, survivors and their families — because of the heinous cult crimes — must have been so severe, and that is beyond my imagination," Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa told a news conference.

She said the crime affected not only Japan but also sowed fear abroad.

TV screens at an electrical appliance store show the image of doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara in news reports, in Urayasu, near Tokyo, Friday, July 6, 2018. Asahara and six followers were executed Friday for their roles in a deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subways and other crimes, Japan’s Justice Ministry said. (Kyodo News via AP)

TV screens at an electrical appliance store show the image of doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara in news reports, in Urayasu, near Tokyo, Friday, July 6, 2018. Asahara and six followers were executed Friday for their roles in a deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subways and other crimes, Japan’s Justice Ministry said. (Kyodo News via AP)

The seven executions in one day were the most since Japan began releasing information on executions in 1998. They were hanged in detention centers in Tokyo and three other places, spread out so the executions could be done at once.

Japan hangs several people in an average year but keeps the executions highly secretive. The country started disclosing the names of the executed and their locations only 11 years ago. Those executed learn their fate only when they are taken to the gallows. There are 117 convicts on death row.

Six of the seven, including Asahara, had been implicated in the subway attack. They included three scientists who led the production of the sarin gas and a man who drove a getaway vehicle.

Their other crimes include the 1989 murders of an anti-Aum lawyer and his wife and 1-year-old baby and a 1994 sarin attack in the city of Matsumoto in central Japan, which killed seven people and injured more than 140. An eighth person died after being in a coma for a decade.

On March 20, 1995, cult members used umbrellas to puncture plastic bags, releasing sarin nerve gas inside subway cars just as their trains approached the Kasumigaseki station, Japan's Capitol Hill, during the morning rush. Commuters poured out of subway stations in downtown Tokyo, and the streets were soon filled with troops in Hazmat suits and people being treated in first-aid tents set up outside.

FILE - This combination of file photos shows Aum Shinrikyo cult leader Shoko Asahara, from top left to right, his cult members, Tomomasa Nakagawa, Seiichi Endo, and Masami Tsuchiya. Other members from bottom left to right, Yoshihiro Inoue, Tomomitsu Nimi, and Kiyohide Hayakawa. Japan executed the leader and six followers of a doomsday cult Friday, July 6, 2018, for a series of deadly crimes including a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 13 people in 1995. (Kyodo News via AP, File)

FILE - This combination of file photos shows Aum Shinrikyo cult leader Shoko Asahara, from top left to right, his cult members, Tomomasa Nakagawa, Seiichi Endo, and Masami Tsuchiya. Other members from bottom left to right, Yoshihiro Inoue, Tomomitsu Nimi, and Kiyohide Hayakawa. Japan executed the leader and six followers of a doomsday cult Friday, July 6, 2018, for a series of deadly crimes including a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 13 people in 1995. (Kyodo News via AP, File)

The convicted also assaulted and murdered wayward followers and people who helped members leave the cult.

Asahara, whose original name was Chizuo Matsumoto, founded Aum Shinrikyo in 1984. The cult attracted many young people, including graduates of top universities.

During his eight-year trial, Asahara talked incoherently, occasionally babbling in broken English, and never acknowledged his responsibility or offered meaningful explanations.

He was on death row for about 14 years. His family has said he was a broken man, constantly wetting and soiling the floor of his prison cell and not communicating with his family or lawyers. They had requested his mental treatment a retrial.

Some survivors of the cult's crimes opposed the executions, saying they would end hopes for a fuller explanation of the crimes.

Shizue Takahashi, whose husband was a subway deputy station master who died in the attack, also expressed regret that six of Asahara's followers had been killed.

A staff of Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun distributes their extra edition reporting that doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara was executed, in Tokyo Friday, July 6, 2018. Asahara and six followers were executed Friday for their roles in a deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subways and other crimes, Japan's Justice Ministry said. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

A staff of Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun distributes their extra edition reporting that doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara was executed, in Tokyo Friday, July 6, 2018. Asahara and six followers were executed Friday for their roles in a deadly 1995 gas attack on the Tokyo subways and other crimes, Japan's Justice Ministry said. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

"I wanted the others to talk more about what they did as lessons for anti-terrorism measures in this country, and I wanted the authorities and experts to learn more from them," she told a televised news conference. "I regret that is no longer possible."

The cult claimed 10,000 members in Japan and 30,000 in Russia. It has disbanded, though nearly 2,000 people follow its rituals in three splinter groups, monitored by authorities.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said authorities are taking precautionary measures in case of any retaliation by his followers.

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Yuki Tsunoda finally has his promotion at Red Bull. That was difficult enough, elevated to the top team last week as Liam Lawson was demoted to Red Bull's No. 2 Formula 1 team — Racing Bulls — after failing to score points in the season's first two races.

Delivering will be even tougher as Tsunoda joins a long list of Japanese drivers with varying degrees of success in F1. His first Grand Prix for Red Bull is on Sunday in Japan.

Tsunoda faces pressure before adoring home fans, is another Japanese driver trying to crack through, and bears the weight of racing alongside four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen.

What advice has Red Bull team principal Christian Horner given him?

“Be close as much as possible to Max,” Tsunoda said in a BBC interview. “In some situation if I'm able to be ahead of Max, he (Horner) wouldn't necessarily ask me to swap the position.”

This is Tsunoda's fifth season in F1, and he needs to deliver points for Red Bull. His best career finish was fourth place in Abu Dhabi in 2021. He's finished out of the points with Racing Bulls in the first two Grand Prix races this season, but came in sixth in the sprint race almost two weeks ago in China.

Red Bull's car this weekend will run with a white paint job, a tribute to automaker Honda. Verstappen has won four consecutive titles with Honda power. This is Red Bull's last season with Honda, moving next year to Ford. Honda moves to power Aston Martin next season.

This is his best chance, and Tsunoda will have to excel to stay with Red Bull. Not just for this season, but for next.

Almost 20 Japanese drivers have competed and none has won an F1 race. Japanese have reached the podium only three times in F1. And all were third-place finishes.

Aguri Suzuki was the first to reach the podium, finishing third in the 1990 Japanese GP.

Kamui Kobayashi was third in the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix driving with Sauber and has scored more points in F1 than any Japanese driver.

Takuma Sato managed a third in the 2004 U.S. Grand Prix. He is also a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.

McLaren has won the first two races — Lando Norris in Australia and Oscar Piastri in China — in a field that looks tightly bunched.

Norris leads the driver standings with 44 points, followed by Verstappen with 36 and George Russell of Mercedes with 35. Piastri is one point back with 34.

Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who joined Ferrari this season after departing Mercedes, has only nine points. He was 10th in Australia and was disqualified in China following post-race scrutineering. His best result so far is a win in the sprint race in China.

Hamilton has won five times in Japan, and his Ferrari team has vowed to fix the mistakes that saw Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc disqualified in China.

AP Formula 1: https://apnews.com/hub/formula-one

FILE - RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan talks at a press conference during a Formula One pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)

FILE - RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan talks at a press conference during a Formula One pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic, File)

FILE - RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan, celebrates his third place after the qualifying session ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini, File)

FILE - RB driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan, celebrates his third place after the qualifying session ahead of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos race track, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini, File)

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan performs a demonstration run during an event in Tokyo, ahead of the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix, Wednesday, April 2, 2025.(Kyodo News via AP)

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan performs a demonstration run during an event in Tokyo, ahead of the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix, Wednesday, April 2, 2025.(Kyodo News via AP)

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan performs a demonstration run during an event in Tokyo, ahead of the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix, Wednesday, April 2, 2025.(Kyodo News via AP)

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan performs a demonstration run during an event in Tokyo, ahead of the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix, Wednesday, April 2, 2025.(Kyodo News via AP)

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan smiles during a press conference in Tokyo, ahead of the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix, Wednesday, April 2, 2025.(Kyodo News via AP)

Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda of Japan smiles during a press conference in Tokyo, ahead of the Japanese Formula 1 Grand Prix, Wednesday, April 2, 2025.(Kyodo News via AP)

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