The 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult was a turning point for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, according to Katsumi Nakamura, who led decontamination work at a subway station following the attack.
Nakamura, 65, a former instructor at the Ground SDF Chemical School, said that "measures have progressed" after Japan faced the threat of chemical terrorism 30 years ago, but warned that "a sense of crisis is fading."
Nakamura was at a loss for words at the sight of the devastation after entering Tsukiji Station of the then Teito Rapid Transit Authority, now Tokyo Metro, on March 20, 1995, the day of the attack.
"Shoes and glasses were scattered on the unmanned station platform, and traces of bloody vomit and liquid left on the train were shocking," he said.
After spraying a neutralizing agent to counteract the sarin gas, Nakamura took his gas mask off to confirm with his own body that the area was safe. "I inhaled outside air little by little and focused to see if there was anything wrong," he said.
He said he was confident in his work, but added that the waiting time felt long.
The former SDF instructor said that he had a premonition about the unprecedented chemical terrorism. On the day before the attack, he instructed roughly 400 police officers on how to put on gas masks and deal with toxic gases at the GSDF's Camp Asaka.
Such training had never been conducted before, and while he was not told the purpose or reason of the drill, he felt "something may happen soon."
Nakamura accompanied investigators on a search of an Aum facility, helping police by searching for traces of sarin manufacturing.
"It was an unusual shape, with a mixture of neatly organized pipes like in a high-tech factory and amateurish shoddily made sections," he said of the facility. "It was all red and rusty, and I was surprised at how (Aum produced sarin) in a place like this."
The sarin gas attack boosted the GSDF's chemical weapons operations, quelling earlier calls for them to be abolished on the grounds that specialized research was unnecessary. The GSDF doubled the number of personnel, establishing units that can deal with chemical attacks around the country and creating a unit for treating attack victims.
Instruments for detecting and analyzing chemical weapons and for decontamination were also improved.
The GSDF Chemical School was made a designated research institution of the U.N.-linked Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons last September thanks to its improved capabilities, making it one of the world's few institutions that can identify the causative agents of terrorist attacks and assassinations in which the use of chemical weapons is suspected.
Japan is working so that police and related government agencies also set up specialized divisions in the chemical weapons field and create frameworks for cooperation.
Since retiring from the SDF, Nakamura has given lectures on antiterrorism measures and crisis management. While he highly evaluates the improvement in measures against chemical attacks, he fears that "the seriousness of people other than those in charge (of dealing with such attacks) may be fading."
Nakamura said the danger of terrorism is increasing due to advancements in drone technology and other factors.
"I hope people take notice again on the 30th anniversary of the incident," he said.
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