Tomorrow, Nov. 21, the Supreme Court is expected to hand down its ruling on the appeal filed by Seiichi Endo, a former member of the Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) cult. Endo, now 51, was sentenced to death in 2002 (upheld in 2007) for his role in the nerve gas attacks in Matsumoto City in June 1994 and the Tokyo subway system in March 1995 — in which 20 people died and thousands more suffered varying degrees of after-effects.
Before joining the cult, the Hokkaido native had been working on a doctorate in virology at one of Japan's top universities.
As no other appeals are pending, Endo's case is likely to mark the end of the 189 criminal trials involving cult members.