Society

Victims of 1995 deadly sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway remembered

Mar 20 (NHK) - Sunday marks 27 years since the deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult.

Members of the cult released the toxic nerve agent inside commuter trains on three lines in central Tokyo during morning rush hour on March 20, 1995. Fourteen people were killed and about 6,300 others were injured.

At Kasumigaseki subway station, staff observed a moment of silence at 8 a.m., almost the exact time of the attack 27 years ago.

Bereaved families, survivors and subway users offered flowers to commemorate the victims.

Takahashi Shizue was one of them. She lost her husband, who was the assistant station master at the subway station.

Takahashi said she has heard young people say that they know about the incident, but do not feel it is real. She said she would like to pass on the feelings of survivors and bereaved families to younger generations.

The cult's former leader Asahara Shoko, whose real name was Matsumoto Chizuo, and 12 other members were executed in 2018.

The Public Security Intelligence Agency says multiple successor organizations are still operating, and one of them, known as Aleph, has been actively trying to recruit young people.

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