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by A.K.

After the recent terrorist attacks on London’s underground train
system, it’s difficult to not be reminded of the horrific events that
took place ten years ago in Tokyo’s own subway. On the tenth
anniversary of those attacks it’s important to look back and remember
the lives lost and those who continue to suffer to this day. For that
reason, I’ve summarized the events of that fateful day to help insure
that they will never be forgotten:

On Monday, March 20, 1995, a religious cult by the name of Aum
Shinrikyo, meaning “supreme truth”, carried out the most devastating
terrorist attack ever to occur on Japanese soil by instructing five of
its members to simultaneously release deadly liquid sarin nerve gas
into various areas of the Tokyo subway system.

The short and long-term effects of sarin poisoning include bleeding
from the nose and mouth, convulsions, breathing difficulties, chronic
nightmares, extreme sensitivity to light, foaming at the mouth, high
fevers, memory loss, chronic vomiting, paralysis, respiratory
problems, seizures, uncontrollable trembling, blindness, and death.

Although the true motive for Aum’s attack is still unexplained,
prosecutors theorize that it was an attempt to bring down the Japanese
government and install the group’s founder, Asahara Shoko, an
uneducated, nearly-blind man who claimed to be a reincarnated Hindu
god, as ruler of the country.

The attack itself came at the peak of Monday morning rush hour. Each
of the five perpetrators hid two plastic packages of deadly liquid
sarin by wrapping them in
newspaper, and carried them onto a subway car assigned to them by
Asahara. When their train reached its desired stop, the cult members
dropped the sarin packets onto the floor of the car, punctured them
with the sharpened tip of an umbrella, and quickly exited the train to
meet up with a getaway driver who would take them back to Aum
headquarters in Shibuya.

Hayashi Ikuo, a former heart and artery specialist at Keio Hospital in
Tokyo who left his job and family to join Aum as their “Minister of
Healing”, was assigned to release sarin on the Chiyoda Line, which
runs from Kita-senju in northeast Tokyo to Yoyogi-uehara in the west.
Wearing a surgical mask as if he were infected with a cold, Hayashi
boarded the first car of a southwest bound Chiyoda Line train at 7:48
a.m. When it arrived at Shinochanomizu Station, Hayashi dropped his
sarin packets, stabbed them with his umbrella, and quickly left the
train to meet his getaway driver.

Two station attendants who carried Hayashi’s sarin packets out of the train were
killed, while 231 others, mostly passengers, suffered severe injuries.
Hayashi Ikuo was sentenced to life in prison for his actions.

The Marunouchi Line was attacked twice. Hirose Kenichi, a member of Aum’s
“Chemical Brigade” who received a masters degree in physics from
Waseda University, was assigned to board the second car of a west
bound train in Ikebukero and release his sarin at Ochanomizu Station.
After wrapping the packets in a sports tabloid newspaper, he boarded
the train. One station away from his destination, he noticed a young
school girl beside him. Overwhelmed with guilt from the thought of
killing her, Hirose decided to move to the third car and release the
sarin there instead.

The infected train traveled all the way to its final stop at Ogikubo
Station with the
sarin liquid soaking the car’s floor and new passengers entering and
exiting the train all the while. It even went back into service as an
east bound train until finally being taken out of service at
Shin-koenji Station.

A man who happened to be sitting directly in front of the sarin
packets was killed and 358 others suffered serious injuries. In
addition, Hirose himself had to be treated for sarin poisoning and was
later sentenced to death as a result of his actions.

Yokoyama Masato, an engineering graduate from Tokai Univeristy who
served as Secretary of Aum’s “Ministry of Science and Technology”,
boarded the fifth car of a west bound Maranouchi Line train in
Shinjuku at 7:39 a.m. and released the gas at Yotsuya Station. The
train reached the end of the line at 8:03 a.m. and returned east
bound. At Ikebukuro Station, the train was evacuated and searched, but
the sarin packets were not found. At 8:32, the train was put back into
service, bound for Shinjuku.

At Hongo-san-chome Station, train staff finally removed the sarin
packets and mopped the floor, which spread the sarin around,
increasing its effectiveness. The train reached Shinjuku and returned
west bound until it was finally taken out of service for good at
Kokkai-gijidomae Station at 9:27 a.m., one hour and forty minutes
after the sarin was initially released.

200 people suffered injuries. Fortunately, no deaths occurred from the
release of Yokoyama’s sarin. This is believed to be because he failed
to thoroughly puncture his packets and the poison evaporated very
slowly. Yokoyama was later sentenced to death.

The Hibya Line was also attacked twice. Toyoda Toru, who graduated with a
masters degree in physics from Tokyo University and put off doctoral
studies in order to join Aum, boarded the first car of a
Tobu-dobutsukoen bound train at 7:39 a.m., punctured his sarin packets
at Ebisu Station, and made his escape.

The sarin-infected train continued on its route. Several stops later,
at Kamiyacho Station, panicked passengers suffering respiratory
problems were removed from the train and taken to a nearby hospital.
However, the train was not taken out of service and continued on to
Kasumigaseki Station where it was finally evacuated.

One passenger, an elderly gentleman, died and 532 were seriously
injured. Toyoda was later sentenced to death.

Hayashi Yasuo (no relation to Hayashi Ikuo who released sarin on the
Chiyoda Line) was the third highest in command of Aum’s “Ministry of
Science and Technology”. He studied artificial intelligence at
Kogakuin University and lived in India before joining Aum. Hayashi
Yasuo was assigned to attack the southwest bound Hibiya Line that runs
from Kita-senju to Naka-Meguro. Unlike the other perpetrators, he was
given three
packets of sarin instead of two. He boarded the third car of the train
at Ueno Station at 7:43 a.m. and punctured all three packets two stops
later at Akihabara Station.

Passengers felt the effects of the Hayashi’s sarin almost immediately,
having troubles seeing and breathing. At the next stop, Kodemmacho
Station, a passenger kicked the packets onto the platform, suspecting
that they were causing the problem. The train continued on with a
puddle of sarin remaining on the floor of the car. A passenger hit the
emergency stop button, but the train continued on to Tsukiji Station
where it was taken out of service. Most of the passengers collapsed
onto the platform after exiting.

Back at Kodenmacho Station, the ejected sarin packets evaporated into
the air, killing four people. 275 were seriously injured and a total
of eight died as a result of Hayashi Yasuo’s actions. Following the
attacks, he fled to Ishigaki Island - 1000 miles from Tokyo - where he
was finally captured in 1997 and sentenced to death.

Ten years later, thousands who were on the subway that morning still
find themselves affected by the attacks, and a countless number of
people still find themselves suffering from headaches, trembling, and
breathing problems. Many are still too ill to work.

Remarkably, Aum continues to thrive today under the new name of Aleph.
With over 2,000 members (down from over 10,000 a decade ago), the
group still follows Asahara’s teachings, although they claim to have
given up their violent past.

Earlier this year, Aum/Aleph released a statement offering a
“heartfelt apology” and a promise to “never repeat an incident of that
kind ever again”. They also vowed to compensate the victims and the
families of the deceased, as ordered by the Japanese government. Of
the $35 million USD they promised to pay, only $7 million has
materialized.

Healing remains to be the biggest obstacle for most survivors, be it emotional,
physical, or both. Many spent the anniversary of the attacks visiting
a temporary shrine set up on the Maranouchi Line platform in Shinjuku
Station. Others, who were still too traumatized to even enter the
subway, attempted to make peace with what happened by walking the
streets together from station to station to leave flowers at the
above-ground entrances of where the attacks occurred.

Like 9/11 in the United States and the recent subway bombings in
London, the events of “March 20″ will never be forgotten.