Former Aum Shinrikyo cult member released from jail after serving full term
Makoto Hirata turned himself in to police in 2011 after nearly 17 years on the run. In 2014, he was given a nine-year jail term for his crimes.
Aum founder's second daughter to receive his remains, top court rules
The public security authority is closely monitoring how the remains will be treated once they are handed over, amid concerns the ashes and hair will become objects of worship.
Aum cult leader Asahara's daughter to get his remains, court rules
The move comes amid a row over who will take possession of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara's ashes.
25 years after Tokyo subway attack, Aum is a shadow of its former self
Doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo's sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway trains shocked Japan and the world, raising concerns over nonstate organizations obtaining weapons of mass destruction.
Japan marks 25 years since deadly Aum sarin attack on Tokyo subway
The cult’s founder Shoko Asahara and senior members were executed in 2018.
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.
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 ...
New era offers Japan an opportunity to reassess the future
What's in a name? What's in an era? What is an "era"? What's a "new era"? Are we entering one? To take the last question first: Not really, said 57 percent of respondents to a survey the Asahi Shimbun conducted in March versus 37 percent ...
Japan marked the 24th anniversary Wednesday of a deadly sarin nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subway system carried out by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which killed 13 people and injured more than 6,000 others. In a memorial ceremony at Kasumigaseki Station, relatives of the victims ...
Ex-Aum cultist Makoto Hirata has 'no special feelings' about Shoko Asahara's execution
Makoto Hirata, a former Aum Shinrikyo executive, says he has “no special feelings” about the execution last month of Shoko Asahara, the founder of the now-defunct doomsday cult.
Authorities have decided to permanently preserve trial records of criminal cases involving the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult as part of efforts to prevent a repeat of the serious crimes committed by its members, Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Friday. "Their crimes were unprecedented, and similar ...
Aum executions fail to end debate over cult's motives
The execution of 13 members of the religious group Aum Shinrikyo in two rounds on July 6 and 26, including the group’s 63-year-old leader, Shoko Asahara (whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto), for the 1995 subway sarin attack and other crimes, was hardly a ...
