For many Japanese, the March 20, 1995, sarin attack on Tokyo's subways -- which killed 12 people and sickened more than 5,000 -- is still fresh in their memory. The passage of 10 years seems hardly enough to heal the sorrow of the families of the deceased and the suffering of the surviving victims.
Some survivors are bedridden with little or no prospect of recovery. Some become sick in February or March every year, as memories of the terror come back to haunt them. Many are gripped by fears of fresh terrorism.
Certainly the government needs to do more to help the victims as well as the bereaved families. To be sure, financial aid is available to crime victims, but it is far from sufficient to support their lives. Workers who were victimized in the sarin attack are now eligible for care and treatment under an expanded worker-accident compensation system.