People victimized by Aum Shinrikyo's crimes voiced relief Friday that cult founder Shoko Asahara would pay for the deaths of 27 people with his own life.
But they also expressed frustration that the eight-year trial failed to present the whole picture of the cult's unprecedented crimes due to the guru's silence. They also reiterated their call for state compensation to the survivors, their families and the next of kin of the victims, who still suffer from the damage caused by the crimes.
Shizue Takahashi, who lost her husband, Kazumasa, in the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system, told a news conference after the ruling that she was relieved Asahara had received the death sentence.