Aum Shinrikyo (Aleph)
One of the most dangerous cults in modern history
1984 - present
Few organizations evoke as much dread and fascination as Aum Shinrikyo. With an amalgamation of Buddhist and Hindu cosmology, New Age theories, and apocalyptic visions, Aum Shinrikyo—a name that translates roughly to “Supreme Truth”—promised salvation in a world on the brink of annihilation. The reality, however, was an almost unimaginable landscape of criminality, including kidnappings, murders, and an audacious act of domestic terrorism.Â
At the center of Aum Shinrikyo’s web was its charismatic leader, Shoko Asahara. Born Chizuo Matsumoto, he was a failed businessman and a partially blind acupuncturist before metamorphosing into a spiritual guru. His personal magnetism and purported spiritual insights attracted a following that eventually included some of Japan's most educated and technologically proficient individuals.
Asahara proclaimed himself the “Christ” for the modern age and professed that only through him could people attain enlightenment and escape the apocalyptic calamities that awaited the world. He drew liberally from various religious and esoteric texts, concocting a complex narrative that he used to coerce his followers into doing unspeakable acts.
To the outside world, Aum Shinrikyo appeared to be just another spiritual community, albeit with some eccentric teachings. The cult even achieved official status as a religious organization in Japan in 1989, giving it tax benefits and a veneer of legitimacy. Followers wore simple clothing, performed austere practices, and appeared wholly devoted to their spiritual pursuits. Yet, behind this façade lay an underworld of illegality and moral decay.
As Aum Shinrikyo’s ranks swelled into the thousands, the cult grew more militaristic and apocalyptic in its rhetoric. Asahara started preaching about an imminent World War III, instigated by the United States, which would culminate in a nuclear Armageddon. However, Aum’s followers were told that they could survive this doomsday scenario by remaining loyal to the cult.
To prepare for the end times, Aum Shinrikyo started stockpiling weapons and even ventured into the production of chemical agents. The cult's technical experts went to great lengths to manufacture sarin gas, a potent nerve agent, and experimented with VX gas, an even more lethal substance. These were not just theoretical endeavors; real-life tests were conducted on stray animals, and eventually, human victims.
The cult's criminal activities took a much darker turn on June 27, 1994, when sarin gas was released in the residential neighborhood of Matsumoto, resulting in seven deaths and injuring hundreds. Astonishingly, the authorities initially failed to trace the attack back to Aum Shinrikyo.
However, it was the Tokyo subway sarin attack on March 20, 1995, that finally stripped the cult of its enigmatic aura and exposed its true, malevolent nature. In a carefully coordinated operation, cult members released sarin gas in the Tokyo subway system during rush hour. The aftermath was catastrophic: 13 people died, and more than 50 were left seriously injured, with thousands more affected to varying degrees.
After the Tokyo subway attack, a massive police operation was initiated to apprehend Asahara and other key members of Aum Shinrikyo. Asahara was found hiding in a concealed room within one of the cult’s complexes and was subsequently arrested. A series of trials followed, exposing a wide range of criminal activities that went far beyond the sarin attacks. In 2004, Asahara was sentenced to death, a sentence carried out in 2018.
Today, various splinter groups of Aum Shinrikyo continue to exist, albeit under close scrutiny and with a much-reduced following. The original cult was reorganized in 2000 under the name “Aleph.” They changed their doctrine, apologized to victims, and started a compensation fund for those killed in their terrorist acts. However, it is still seen as a threat by many and maintains a status of a terrorist organization by governments worldwide.
Religion: Buddhism/New Age
Founder: Chizuo Matsumoto ("Shoko Asahara")
Founded: 1984; reorganized in 2000 under the name "Aleph"
Size: 40,000 at height; 1,500 as of 2011
Location: Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Minami Ward)
Also called: Aleph
Members were found locked in prison cells (see "Unable to Leave" section below) (source)
Drugged and performed medical experiments on humans (source)
Members were kept "in line" through violence, blackmail, and drugs (source)
Members who criticized aspects of the cult were drugged and imprisoned (source p. 73)
Used electric shocks to wipe the memories of dissident followers (source)
Members were often deprived of food and sleep (source p. 73)
People who did not want to join the group were kidnapped and drugged (source p. 403)
In 2016, authorities broke up a conference affiliated with the cult after it was reported that attendees "showed signs of ritualistic injury" and malnourishment (source)
Kiyoshi Kariya, the brother of a member hiding from the group, was beaten, kidnapped, injected with drugs, and tortured for hours. Eventually, he died from a drug-induced coma and was cooked for two days in an industrial microwave (see "Murder" section below) (source)
Accused the U.S. military of causing the Great Hanshin earthquake through a device that exerts energy into the ground (source)
Believed Armageddon would occur in 1997 (source)
Also predicted the apocalypse would occur by 2000, in which weapons would destroy 90% of the urban population and humans would need to develop supernatural powers through spiritual training to survive (source p. 402)
Attempted to gain control of the government, believing it was required to bring the apocalypse (source)
The most severe terrorist attacks were committed to help bring about the apocalypse (source)
Asahara wrote a number of books about the apocalypse (source p. 400)
The instances of abuse, kidnapping, and forced drugging (see "Abusive" section above) were likely the direct result of Asahara's apocalyptic beliefs (source p. 403)
Shoko Asahara declared himself to be "Christ" (source)
Asahara identified with the "Lamb of God" and claimed to be Japan's only fully enlightened master (source)
Asahara claimed to be a deity and an end-times prophet who was able to purify sinners (source)
Asahara claimed to have supernatural powers, such as the ability to levitate (source p. 73)
Asahara claimed he was appointed “the god of light who leads the armies of the gods” by the Hindu God Shiva (source p. 388)
Several occult journals reported favorably on Asahara's supernatural powers (source p. 402)
Believed that killing opponents saved them from acuminating bad karma (source p. 19)
Timeline of Murders:
February 1989: Murdered Shuji Taguchi, a member who had tried to leave the cult (source)
5 November 1989: Members murdered Tsutsumi Sakamoto, an outspoken critic of the organization (source)
Late 1993-Early 1994: Attempted to murder Daisaku Ikeda, the head of Soka Gakkai, a rival religious organization (source)
January 1994: Mordered Kotaro Ochida after she attempted to leave the cult (source)
9 May 1994: Attempted to murder attorney Taro Takimoto as a retaliation for her work on behalf of the cult's victims (source)
Fall 1994: Murdered up to 20 dissident members as punishment (source)
20 September 1994: poisoned Shoko Egawa, a journalist who had published a negative story about them (source)
November - December 1994: Attempted to murder Noboru Mizuno as a punishment for assisting dissident members (source)
12 December 1994: Murdered Tadahito Hamaguchi as a punishment for allegedly spying on the cult (source)
1995: Kidnapped and murdered Kiyoshi Kariya, the brother of a member who was trying to escape (source)
(Suspected) January 1995: Suspected to have been responsible for poisoning dissident members (source)
4 January 1995: Attempted to kill Hiroyuki Nagaoka, head of the "Aum Supreme Truth Victim's Group" to prevent him from encouraging members to leave the cult (source)
February 1995: Attempted to murder Ryuho Okawa, the leader of the rival religious group Institute for Research into Human Happiness (source)
Formally designated a terrorist organization by the European Union, Russia (source), Canada (source), and Kazakhstan (source). Had also previously been recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States (source) and the European Union (source)
Police found explosives, a military helicopter, and enough poison to kill 4 million people at the organization’s headquarters (source)
Planned for a future attack in New York (source)
In 2019, a sympathizer injured 9 people in an attack in retaliation for the execution of members of the organization (source)
Timeline of terrorist activities:
April 1990: Attempted a chemical attack on U.S. naval bases, an airport, and Japanese government buildings (source)
22 October 1992: Attempted to access samples of the Ebola virus in 1992 (source)
9 June 1993: Attempted a chemical attack at the wedding ceremony of Prince Naruhito, the emperor of Japan (source)
June-July 1993: Released large amounts of Bacillus Anthracis spores in an attempt to start an anthrax epidemic (source)
27 June 1994: Killed 8 people and injured 500 in a chemical weapons attack, attempting to kill three judges who were overseeing a lawsuit against members (source)
(suspected) 1 September 1994: 231 people were injured in what was believed to have been an attack orchestrated by Aum Shinrikyo (source)
(suspected) 5 March 1995: suspected to have been responsible for the injuries of 20 people on a subway train (source)
20 March 1995: Launched sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, killing 12 and injuring 5,500 (source)
(suspected) 11 April 1995: Suspected to have been responsible for the "foul odor" and sore throats of 20 people (source)
5 May 1995: Injured four people with a lethal gas to help fulfill an Armageddon prophecy and delay investigations into the cult (source)
(suspected) 15 May 1995: suspected to have been responsible for the foul-smelling fumes and uncontrollable coughing of 11 people (source)
16 May 1995: Bombed the Tokyo Metropolitan Government headquarters, injuring the assistant of governor Yukio Aoshima (source)
(suspected) 2 July 1995: suspected to be responsible for the injuries of 36 subway commuters
(suspected) 5 July 1995: suspected to be responsible for three attempted chemical poisonings, resulting in 4 injuries (source)
Followers took a vow of chastity (source p. 73)
Other tags:
Discovery Channel documentary
Books:
In "Destroying the World to Save It," National Book Award-winning psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton delves into the dark psyche of millennial cults, with a particular focus on Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese doomsday cult responsible for the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack. Leveraging unprecedented access to former cult members, Lifton provides an in-depth examination of how charismatic leader Shoko Asahara melded New Age philosophy, ancient rituals, and apocalyptic sci-fi to create a deadly ideology. He then mobilized educated disciples, including scientists, to produce weapons of mass destruction. Lifton warns of the increasing risk in the 21st century that cults and extremist groups could enact their own apocalyptic visions, underscoring an emerging global threat that requires immediate attention.
In this haunting work of journalistic investigation, Haruki Murakami tells the story of the horrific terrorist attack on Japanese soil that shook the entire world.
On a clear spring day in 1995, five members of a religious cult unleashed poison gas on the Tokyo subway system. In attempt to discover why, Haruki Murakmi talks to the people who lived through the catastrophe, and in so doing lays bare the Japanese psyche. As he discerns the fundamental issues that led to the attack, Murakami paints a clear vision of an event that could occur anytime, anywhere.
On March 20, 1995, a sarin gas attack in the subways of rush-hour Tokyo killed 12 people and seriously injured 5000 others. The Japanese police identified the perpetrator as a small religious group called Aum Shinri Kyo, or the Aum Divine Truth Sect. Searches of Aum compounds around Japan, arrests and confessions of members, and a rising pile of evidence of the manufacture of chemical weapons by the group led to the arrest of Asanhana, the sect's guru leader, who was put on trial for murder. This study provides an account of the first terrorist attack in Japan directed at civilians and also offers analysis and interpretation based on the author's knowledge of Japan and new Japanese religions.
The Tokyo subway attack in March 1995 was just one of a series of criminal activities including murder, kidnapping, extortion, and the illegal manufacture of arms and drugs carried out by the Japanese new religious movement Aum Shinrikyo, under the guidance of its leader Asahara Shoko. Reader looks at Aum's claims about itself and asks, why did a religious movement ostensibly focussed on yoga, meditation, asceticism and the pursuit of enlightenment become involved in violent activities?
Reader discusses Aum's spiritual roots, placing it in the context of contemporary Japanese religious patterns. Asahara's teaching are examined from his earliest public pronouncements through to his sermons at the time of the attack, and statements he has made in court. In analysing how Aum not only manufactured nerve gases but constructed its own internal doctrinal justifications for using them Reader focuses on the formation of what made all this possible: Aum's internal thought-world, and on how this was developed.
Reader argues that despite the horrors of this particular case, Aum should not be seen as unique, nor as solely a political or criminal terror group. Rather it can best be analysed within the context of religious violence, as an extreme example of a religious movement that has created friction with the wider world that escalated into violence.
Aum Shinrikyo and Japanese Youth offers insights into Japanese spirituality by analyzing the motivations of those who joined the Aum Shinrikyo religious sect. This group attracted worldwide attention after its poison gas attack on the Tokyo subways in March, 1995. Daniel A. Metraux explores the reasons that thousands of Japanese people, many of them youths, joined the sect. He questions why they joined it, what they expected of their membership, and why they stayed involved or left. Metraux finds that most of the members got involved for religious and social reasons and did not partake in the terrorist and criminal activities of the leaders of Aum Shinrikyo. In addition, the author examines how the Aum situation reflects a growing sense of alienation from the traditional Japanese religion and culture among some of the young and middle-aged Japanese people, providing important information about the present status of the Japanese people.
Aum Shinrikyo and Weapons of Mass Destruction: A Case Study
(Lawrence A. Greenfeld and Steven K. Smith)
(Lawrence A. Greenfeld and Steven K. Smith)
Terrorist attacks by domestic groups are a potential threat to the American public. The devastation of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City is an example of an effective attack by a domestic group using only conventional weapons. In 1995, the Japanese religious cult Aum Shinrikyo set a precedent by conducting an effective domestic terrorist attack using chemical weapons against commuters in the Tokyo subway system. An examination and analysis of the environment in which the cult operated, the cult itself, and the attacks it committed using weapons of mass destruction (WMD), provides U.S. authorities with lessons they can apply to improve efforts designed to reduce the probability that WMD attacks ever occur on U.S. soil. This paper examines the phenomenon of Aum Shinrikyo. Part 1 is a general description of the WMD problem that confronts us today, explains the significance of the problem and outlines the limitations of the study. Part 2 describes the origin, development and characteristics of Aum Shinrikyo in order to provide a basis for analysis in following chapters. Part 3 describes several WMD attacks committed by the cult, including the Tokyo Subway attack. Part 4 is an analysis of the political and cultural elements affecting the environment in which the cult operated and an examination of specific and relevant characteristics of the cult itself. All combine to contribute to the formulation of detection and prevention efforts designed to identify and preempt domestic WMD threats. Part 5 presents overall conclusions and recommends areas of further research.