The following are brief descriptions of three major acts of violence by the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult.
Tokyo subway sarin gas attack
Under instructions from Aum leader Shoko Asahara, 15 senior members conspired to take plastic bags containing sarin onto five Tokyo subway trains, which were converging at Kasumigaseki Station in the city's government district, and release the poison by puncturing the bags with umbrellas, vaporizing the nerve agent, during the morning rush hour on March 20, 1995.