Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway

The Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, usually referred to in the Japanese media as the 地下鉄サリン事件 (chikatetsu sarin jiken "subway sarin incident") was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated by members of the religious group Aum Shinrikyo on March 20, 1995. In five coordinated attacks, the conspirators released sarin gas on several lines of the Tokyo Subway, killing twelve people and injuring some six thousand more. The attack was directed against trains passing through Kasumigaseki and Nagatacho, home to the Japanese government. This was (and remains, as of 2005) the most serious attack that has occurred in Japan since the end of the Second World War.

The main perpetrators

Ten men were responsible for carrying out the attacks; five released the sarin, while the other five served as get-away drivers.

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The teams were:

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• Hayashi Ikuo (? ??) and Niimi Tomomitsu (?? ??)
• Hirose Ken'ichi (?? ??) and Kitamura K?ichi (?? ??)
• Toyoda T?ru (?? ?) and Takahashi Katsuya (?? ??)
• Yokoyama Masato (?? ??) and Tonozaki Kiyotaka (?? ??)
• Hayashi Yasuo (? ??, no relation to Hayashi Ikuo) and Sugimoto Shigeo (?? ??)

Hayashi Ikuo

Prior to joining AUM, Hayashi was a senior medical doctor with "an active 'front-line' track record" at the Japanese Ministry of Science and Technology. The son of a doctor, Hayashi graduated from Keio University, one of Tokyo's top schools. He was a heart and artery specialist at Keio Hospital, which he left to become head of Circulatory Medicine at the National Sanitorium Hospital in Tokai, Ibaraki (north of Tokyo). In 1990 he resigned his job and left his family to join AUM in the monastic order sangha, where he became one of Asahara's favourites and was appointed the group's Minister of Healing, as which he was responsible for administering a variety of "treatments" to AUM members, including sodium pentothal and electric shocks to those whose loyalty was suspect. These treatments resulted in several deaths. Hayashi was later sentenced to life imprisonment.

Related Topics:
Ministry of Science and Technology - Keio University - Tokyo - Keio Hospital - National Sanitorium Hospital - Tokai, Ibaraki - Sodium pentothal - Electric shocks - Life imprisonment

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Niimi Tomomitsu was his get-away driver.

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Hirose Ken'ichi

Hirose was thirty years old at the time of the attacks. Holder of a postgraduate degree in Physics from prestigious Waseda University, Hirose became an important member of the group's Chemical Brigade in their Ministry of Science and Technology. Hirose was also involved in the group's Automatic Light Weapon Development scheme.

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After releasing the sarin, Hirose himself showed symptoms of sarin poisoning. He was able to inject himself with the antidote (atropine sulphate) and was rushed to AUM Shinrikyo Hospital in Nakano for treatment.

Related Topics:
Atropine sulphate - Nakano

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Hirose's appeal of his death sentence was rejected by the Tokyo High Court on Wednesday, July 28, 2003.

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Kitamura K?ichi was his get-away driver.

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Toyoda T?ru

Toyoda was twenty-seven at the time of the attack. He studied applied physics at Tokyo University's Science Department and graduated with honours. He also holds a master's degree, and was about to begin doctoral studies when he joined AUM, where he belonged to the Chemical Brigade in their Ministry of Science and Technology.

Related Topics:
Tokyo University - Master's degree - Doctoral studies

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Toyoda was sentenced to death. The appeal of his death sentence was rejected by the Tokyo High Court on Wednesday, July 28, 2004, and he remains on death row.

Related Topics:
July 28 - 2004 - Death row

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Takahashi Katsuya was his get-away driver.

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Yokoyama Masato

Yokoyama was thirty-one at the time of the attack. He was a graduate in applied physics from Tokai University's Engineering Department. He worked for an electronics firm for three years after graduation before leaving to join AUM, where he became Undersecretary at the group's Ministry of Science and Technology. He was also involved in their Automatic Light Weapons Manufacturing scheme. Yokoyama was sentenced to death in 1999.

Related Topics:
Tokai University - Sentenced to death

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Tonozaki Kiyotaka, a high school graduate who joined the group in 1987, was a member of the group's Ministry of Construction. He was Yokoyama's getaway driver. Tonozaki was sentenced to life in prison.

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Hayashi Yasuo

Yasuo Hayashi was thirty-seven years old at the time of the attacks, and was the oldest person at the group's Ministry of Science and Technology. He studied artificial intelligence at Kogakuin University; after graduation he traveled to India where he studied yoga. He then became an AUM member, taking vows in 1988 and rising to the number three position in the group's Ministry of Science and Technology.

Related Topics:
Artificial intelligence - Kogakuin University - India - Yoga

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Asahara had at one time suspected Hayashi of being a spy. The extra packet of sarin he carried was part of "ritual character test" set up by Asahara to prove his allegiance, according to the prosecution.

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Hayashi went on the run after the attacks; he was arrested twenty-one months later, one thousand miles from Tokyo on Ishigaki Island. He was later sentenced to death (he has appealed).

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Sugimoto Shigeo was his get-away driver. His lawyers argued that he played only a minor role in the attack, but the argument was rejected and he has been sentenced to death.

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