The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the Tokyo High Court's death sentence to former Aum Shinrikyo member Seiichi Endo for his involvement in two indiscriminate sarin gas attacks carried out by the Aum cult — one in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, on June 27, 1994, and the other in five trains on three subway lines in Tokyo on March 20, 1995.
The ruling ended a series of trials related to crimes committed by Aum Shinrikyo. A total of 189 defendants were tried, and the death sentences of 13 Aum Shinrikyo members, including Endo and the top leader Shoko Asahara, have been finalized. Technically, Endo may ask for a "correction" within 10 days from the day after the ruling, but no rulings have ever been changed this way.
Although the Aum criminal trials are over, the families of those killed in the sarin attacks continue to mourn the loss of loved ones. Survivors of the sarin attacks still suffer physically and psychologically. Some of them cannot go outside their homes because of haunting fears. It is important that all of society prevent the memories of the Aum crimes and their effects from fading away. Two successor groups of Aum Shinrikyo are still active.