The March 1995 sarin attack on Tokyo's subway system perpetrated by the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo changed Shizue Takahashi forever. Had it not been for the attack, she would have continued on as an ordinary housewife who enjoyed making sweets.
The Japanese terrorist attack, which killed her husband and 12 other people and left more than 6,000 others injured, drove her to establish a support group for the victims and to speak publicly about her experience.
The 70-year-old representative has even moved the central government to act.