[Essay Today] Tokyo Station Sarin Gas Terror

"It was Monday morning in early spring, with the sky clear and bright. The wind was still chilly, and all the passersby wore coats. Some might have thought, 'I just want to rest today.' However, due to various circumstances, you could not take a break. So, as usual, you woke up in the morning, washed your face, ate breakfast, got dressed, and headed to the station. Then, as always, you boarded the crowded train and headed to work. It was a morning no different from any other."

This is the morning imagined by Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami in his nonfiction work "Underground" (1997), depicting the morning of 1995. Around 8 a.m., sarin gas was released on three subway lines in Tokyo, Japan. Sarin is a chemical weapon developed by Nazi Germany for mass destruction. Scientists belonging to the chemical conglomerate IG Farben developed it in 1938. It has no smell or color, and its toxicity is 500 times greater than cyanide. When sarin is absorbed into the human body through the respiratory tract, eyes, or skin, death occurs within minutes.

Thirteen citizens poisoned by sarin gas died, and about 6,000 were injured. This incident occurred in the heart of Tokyo during the crowded rush hour. It was the largest indiscriminate killing in postwar Japan and the first terrorist attack in history to use chemical weapons against ordinary citizens in a major city. This is known as the "Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas Attack." It was carried out by the Japanese religious group Aum Shinrikyo. Aum Shinrikyo was a new religious movement started by Asahara Shoko in 1984 when he opened a yoga studio (Aum Shinseikai) in Shibuya, Tokyo.

Asahara preached, "Humanity will face its end through germs and nuclear weapons. Aum Shinrikyo believers will overcome Armageddon (the final battlefield of good and evil forces mentioned in the Bible) in November 1995 and establish a millennium kingdom." Young people fascinated by mysticism and supernatural powers flocked to the group. Many teenagers and people in their twenties were drawn to Aum Shinrikyo after seeing photos of Asahara levitating in a meditation pose. The sect grew centered around these followers. At one point, the number of believers exceeded 10,000, and it had overseas branches in four locations, including Moscow.

In 1990, Aum Shinrikyo sought to realize Asahara's teachings in reality by forming the Truth Party and challenging the general election. However, the leader and twenty-five others all lost. Following this failure, Aum Shinrikyo's activities became more radical, even resorting to murder. This led to incidents such as the murder of lawyer Sakamoto's family (1989) and the Matsumoto sarin gas attack (1994). Japanese authorities launched a full-scale investigation and indicted 192 people. Asahara was arrested on May 16, 1995, in Kamikuishiki, Yamanashi Prefecture.

Asahara and thirteen others, including Matsumoto Chizuo, who were identified as masterminds behind the incidents, were sentenced to death. Asahara's death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court on September 15, 2006, and executed on July 6, 2018. The Tokyo District Court issued a dissolution order for Aum Shinrikyo in October 1995. Thus, Aum Shinrikyo disappeared. However, its followers continued activities under the name "Aleph." In 2007, a splinter group called "Hikari no Wa" was formed. The combined number of believers in these two religions reached about 1,500.

Heo Jin-seok, poet and professor at Korea National Sport University