National Jul 7, 2019
A year after Chizuo Matsumoto, who headed the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, was hanged, his ashes remain at the Tokyo Detention House due to a family dispute.
National / Crime & Legal | FOCUS Jul 5, 2019
One year after 13 Aum Shinrikyo executions, scant debate over the death penalty in Japan
One year after the founder and 12 former senior members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult were executed for crimes including the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway system, the debate over the death penalty remains a muted affair in Japan despite ...
National / Crime & Legal Jul 26, 2018
The following is a chronology of events related to the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult and its founder, Shoko Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto: March 2, 1955 — Matsumoto is born in Kumamoto Prefecture. February 1984 — Asahara forms group Aum Shinsen no Kai. July 1987 ...
Language | MORNING ENGLISH Jul 16, 2018
While the execution of cult founder Shoko Asahara may offer a degree of closure on a string of crimes that shocked Japan, it also creates an opportunity for further debate about the death penalty.
National / Crime & Legal Jul 8, 2018
Asahara allegedly asked for his body to be handed over to fourth daughter; wife petitions minister
Aum Shinrikyo cult founder Shoko Asahara is said to have told a detention house guard to give his body to his fourth daughter.
National Jul 7, 2018
Letters written by executed Aum cult members reflect regret, desire to live
Letters sent from prison to civic groups by some of the executed Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult members expressed regret for their heinous crimes and a wish to atone. Their letters also included calls for the abolition of capital punishment and requests for amnesty, showing their ...
National Jul 7, 2018
U.N. human rights agency calls for national debate on death penalty after Aum executions
The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed regret over the executions of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara and six other former members of the cult, calling for a national debate on the death penalty. "We regret that seven people were ...
National / Crime & Legal Jul 6, 2018
Aum victims and bereaved express sense of closure, disappointment and confusion over executions
by Tomohiro Osaki
The execution of Aum Shinrikyo leader Shoko Asahara and six others from the doomsday cult leaves some feeling empty, gives others a sense of closure.
National / Crime & Legal | FOCUS Jul 6, 2018
Aum founder Shoko Asahara's execution leads to renewed debate in Japan on death penalty
While the execution of Aum Shinrikyo cult founder Shoko Asahara and the group's former senior members may offer a degree of closure on a string of crimes that shocked the nation, it also creates an opportunity for further debate in Japanese society about the ...
National / Crime & Legal Jul 6, 2018
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 ...
National / Crime & Legal Jul 6, 2018
Profiles of top Aum Shinrikyo members, including six still on death row
A central figure in the Aum Shinrikyo cult as a chemistry expert, Masami Tsuchiya, 53, was sentenced to death in 2004 for his role in the production of sarin that was used in deadly gas attacks in Nagano Prefecture.
National / Crime & Legal Jul 6, 2018
Japanese have mixed opinions on execution of Aum leader Shoko Asahara and six accomplices
by Maya Kaneko and Cory Baird
A wide-range of reactions were heard Friday to news of the executions of Shoko Asahara and six former senior members of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo — which carried out the deadly 1995 sarin nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway system — with ...