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Shoko Asahara (麻原 彰晃, Asahara Shōkō, March 2, 1955 – July 6, 2018), born Chizuo Matsumoto (松本 智津夫, Matsumoto Chizuo), was the founder and leader of the Japanese doomsday cult known as Aum Shinrikyo. He was convicted of masterminding the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, and was also involved in several other crimes.
Asahara predicted the gathering at Armageddon would happen in 1997. [20] Kaplan notes that in his lectures, Shoko Asahara referred to the United States as "The Beast" from the Book of Revelation, predicting it would eventually attack Japan. [20] Asahara outlined a doomsday prophecy, which included a Third World War instigated by the U.S. [71]
The court found that the murder was committed by order of the group's founder, Shoko Asahara, although not all of the perpetrators testified to this effect, and Asahara denied involvement. Asahara's legal team claims that blaming him is an attempt to shift personal responsibility to a higher authority. [13] [14]
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Concerning the former members who now testify against their guru [Asahara] who did them so much good, I believe their suffering is based on the perceptions that this world is real". [citation needed] Niimi was among the first seven of the Aum Shinrikyo members on death row to be executed on 6 July 2018, including leader Shoko Asahara. [5]
Shoko Asahara's death warrant. The sarin attack was the most serious attack upon Japan since World War II. Shortly after the attack, Aum lost its status as a religious organization, and many of its assets were seized. [74] The Diet (Japanese parliament) rejected a request from government officials to outlaw the group.
The sarin attack occurred in a quiet residential area in the city of Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture.In carrying out the attack, Aum Shinrikyo had two goals; to attack three judges who were expected to rule against the cult in a lawsuit concerning a real estate dispute, and to test the efficacy of its sarin—which the cult was manufacturing at one of its facilities—as a weapon of mass murder. [4]
The execution of Japanese doomsday cult leader Shoko Asahara leaves unanswered questions about Aum Shinrikyo, the group behind the 1995 sarin-gas attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 13 people ...