Prosecutors have indicted Makoto Hirata, a former senior member of Aum Shinrikyo, on fresh charges of involvement in a blast at a Tokyo condominium and the firebombing of the cult’s Tokyo headquarters in 1995, where were allegedly carried out to confuse police investigations of Aum.
Hirata, 46, who was indicted last month on kidnapping and unlawful confinement charges following nearly 17 years on the run, will be the first Aum member to face a lay judge trial.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.