On the morning of March 20, 1995, bags of sarin gas were released on subway trains packed with commuters in downtown Tokyo, leaving 13 people dead and more than 6,000 others injured. Twenty years on, the nation is still trying to come to grips with a series of heinous crimes, including the unprecedented deadly nerve gas attack in the heart of a metropolis, that were perpetrated by members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult.
People are still trying to fathom why so many people — including youths from elite backgrounds — were drawn to the doomsday cult and carried out deadly crimes under the orders of Aum founder Shoko Asahara.
Nearly 200 Aum members were charged and convicted of crimes — including Asahara and 12 others on whom death sentences have been finalized. Three fugitive members who had long escaped the police's manhunt were finally arrested one after another in 2012. Meanwhile, Aum's successor groups continue to attract new followers, including young people who have no firsthand memory of the incidents involving the cult. Police believe that at least one of the groups maintain allegiance to Asahara and his teachings.