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TOKYO (AP) – Doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara and six of his followers were executed Friday, April 1, 2009
During the morning rush hour of March 20, 1995, members of the Asahara's Aum Shinrikyo cult punctured plastic bags to release sarin nerve gas inside subway cars, killing 13 people and sickening more than 6,000.
Japan's Justice Ministry announced the executions of Asahara, 63, and his followers. Two major Japanese newspapers issued extra editions about the executions and handed them out at train stations.
"This gave me a piece of mind," Kiyoe Iwata, who lost her daughter in the subway attack, told Japanese broadcaster NHK. "
Asahara and five of the six executed have been implicated in the past. in the subway attack. The cult has been attacked by other people in the past. Six other followers remain on death row.
The others hanged Friday included two scientists who were the producers of the world. the hangings Tuesday, said she did not take the lightly but felt executions.
"The fear, pain and sorrow of the victims, survivors and their families – because of heinous cult crimes – must have been so severe, and that is beyond my imagination, "Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa told a news conference.
Asahara, whose original name was Chizuo Matsumoto, founded Aum Shinrikyo, or Supreme Truth, in 1984. The cult attracted many young people, including graduates of top universities. Asahara hand-picked some as close aids.
The group amassed an arsenal of chemical, biological and chemical weapons to carry out Asahara's escalating criminal orders in anticipation of an apocalyptic showdown with the government.
During his eight-year trial , Asahara spoke incoherently, occasionally babbling in broken English, and never acknowledged his responsibility or helpful explanations.
He was on death row for about 14 years. His family has been broken up, constantly wetting and soiling
Some survivors of the cult's crimes against the executions, saying they would have hopes for a fuller
Shizue Takahashi, whose husband was a subway deputy station master who died in the attack, also expressed regret that six of Asahara's followers had been killed.
"I wanted the others to talk more they did it for the sake of anti-terrorism measures in this country, and I wanted the experts and experts to learn more from them, "she told a televised news conference. "I regret that is no longer possible."
The cult claimed 10,000 members in Japan and 30,000 in Russia. It was disbanded, although nearly 2,000 people followed its rituals in three splinter groups,
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Suga said authorities are taking precautionary measures in case of any retaliation by his followers
___ [19659002] Kaori Hitomi and Haruka Nuga Associated Press Video Journalists contributed to this story
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