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His face symbolizes the trauma of a nation: 23 years after the devastating attack on the Tokyo subway, Shoko Asahara, founder of the endemic sectarian leader "Aum Shinrikyo", was executed in Japan. This was announced by a spokesman for the Japanese government.
In addition to Asahara, aged 63, the death sentence was applied to six other members of the sect, according to the Kyodo News Agency. The seven convicts were hanged accordingly. These were the first executions related to the March 20, 1995 attack that shocked the world.
At the time of the morning commute, sect members piled sarin bags on five subway cars, releasing the deadly nerve gas. The act took place under the Tokyo District Government. At that time, the attack largely paralyzed the Japanese capital and made it a real war zone.
Injured people with watery eyes were fighting over the air, others foamed their mouths and collapsed, some bleeding through their nostrils. 13 people died, more than 6000 were wounded.
Waiting on the death row
The act caused horror around the world and led to massive action by the authorities against the sect. Asahara was arrested on May 16, 1995. This was followed by an unprecedented process marathon in Japanese legal history. In 2006, a Tokyo court sentenced to death the semi-blind guru and twelve of his supporters with a total of 27 dead because of the attack and other murders.
Driven by the illusion of being able to "redeem" the world by force, it was said that Shoko Asahara had led his followers to the attack. Asahara and the other members of "Aum Shinrikyo" ("The Highest Truth") have been on death row since the verdict, awaiting execution. The founder of the sect, Chizuo Matsumoto, either kept silent or mumbled something unintelligible throughout his trial.
In total, more than 190 Aum members were tried. In January 2018, the last trial ended. In March, 7 out of 13 people sentenced to death were transferred from their detention center in Tokyo to other prisons. In Japan, it is a sign that their execution is approaching. Japan is one of the few industrialized countries to apply the death penalty.
Experts warned against the execution
Some survivors reacted relieved of the execution of the seven members of the sect. He has been suffering for years and will never forget the attack, said filmmaker Atsushi Sakahara, injured during the attack. "But the performance brings a kind of degree."
Despite the cruelty of the attack, some experts had warned against an execution of the perpetrators. The death of Asahara could produce a new cult leader, probably the second son of Asahara. In addition, there were warnings that executions could make the perpetrators martyred in the eyes of their followers.
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