Historical Dictionary of Terrorism Third Edition

AUM SHINRIKYO • 59ing to India in 1986 to study yoga and Tantric mysticism, Asaharareturned to Japan in 1987 and changed the group’s name to AumShinrikyo; it received official recognition as a religion in August1989, giving it tax-exempt status.The Aum is an eclectic synthesis of Hindu mysticism, Christianmillennialist and apocalyptic beliefs derived from the book of Revelation,and prophecies taken from the writings of Nostradamus.Asahara was regarded as Christ by his followers, who he claimednumbered about 40,000 worldwide, with 9,000 in Japan alone by thetime the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack took place. Asahara claimedto have revelations of an imminent world war that would initiateArmageddon, in which his group would fight and overcome the enemiesof Japan, including the United States. Asahara commanded hisfollowers to begin trying to procure nuclear, biological, and chemicalweapons of mass destruction to be able to fight and win the comingprophesied war.In November 1989 Tsutsumi Sakamoto, a lawyer investigating allegationsof brainwashing on behalf of concerned family members ofcult members, was murdered, along with his wife and infant son, bythe Aum members. Asahara and 24 of his followers ran for seats inthe Japanese House of Deputies in February 1990 but none of themwon a seat. The murder of Sakamoto combined with this electoralfailure convinced Asahara that the Japanese government was conspiringagainst him. A siege mentality prevailed in the group, leadingit to carry out the sarin gas attack to paralyze the national policeheadquarters by introducing the gas into the police offices from thesubway tunnels running under that building.Prior to the 20 March 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subwaysystem, the Aum group had attempted on nine occasions to deploy botulinumpoison via airborne dispensers against targets as varied as theJapanese Diet, the Imperial Palace complex, and housing on U.S. militarybases in Japan, without causing even one casualty. After testingthe use of its homemade sarin against the Japanese city of Matsumotoon 27 June 1994, killing seven civilians and injuring 150, the sect thendeployed the gas in the Tokyo subway system. Until the Tokyo attacks,the Matsumoto authorities had believed the deaths and sicknesses hadbeen the result of some sort of food poisoning epidemic.Following the subway gas attack on 20 March 1995, in which 12people died and more than 5,000 were injured, Asahara was arrested