Japan executed the leader of Aum Shinrikyo (cult behind the 1995 sarin gas attack)

AuthenticM · Jul 5, 2018

The leader of Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult which carried out a deadly nerve gas attack on the Tokyo underground in 1995 has been executed, Japanese media report.

The sarin attack, Japan's worst terror incident, killed 13 people and injured thousands more.

Seven other Aum Shinrikyo members are also awaiting execution.

What is the Aum Shinrikyo cult?
The cult, whose name means "supreme truth", began in the 1980s as a spiritual group mixing Hindu and Buddhist beliefs, later working in elements of apocalyptic Christian prophesies.

The group's founder, Shoko Asahara, also known as Chizuo Matsumoto, declared himself to be both Christ and the first "enlightened one" since Buddha.

signal · Jul 5, 2018

not-rip

Broadcast & their anime intro

xbhaskarx · Jul 5, 2018

For some reason I thought this dude was already dead...

dallow_bg · Jul 5, 2018

I was wondering how they still do it, and the link says by hanging.

Jesse_and_the_rippers · Jul 5, 2018

If you asked me beforehand, I would have sworn the sarin attack was like ten years ago. Fuck, I'm getting old.

TissueBox · Jul 5, 2018

I wonder how much activity and power they currently have. With this, their alleged divine leader out of the picture, they've certainly hit a definitive wall. Either way, it's hard to see what they're attempting to uphold now after all these years.

Dullahan · Jul 5, 2018

The one thing I will feel sorry about, is how long they took to kill the man.

As for Shoko himself, good riddance. Nothing of value was lost.

Deleted member 8257 · Jul 5, 2018

Whats the deal with all the crazy cults that started popping up in the 80's and 90s and suddenly stopped after the 00's began?Rajneeshis, Branch Dravidians, this guy, Jim Jones, etc. Seems like it was an international thing.

entremet · Jul 5, 2018

RustyNails said:
Whats the deal with all the crazy cults that started popping up in the 80's and 90s and suddenly stopped after the 00's began?Rajneeshis, Branch Dravidians, this guy, Jim Jones, etc. Seems like it was an international thing.

The internet happened ;p Cults went online, see 4chan.

signal · Jul 5, 2018

Outside Tsukiji station

Dullahan said:
The one thing I will feel sorry about, is how long they took to kill the man.
As for Shoko himself, good riddance. Nothing of value was lost.

They tend not to execute people if accomplices are still on trial and the last trial related to anyone involved in this just ended in January.

Deleted member 25606 · Jul 5, 2018

On one hand I am against capital punishment so I won't celebrate this or say good riddance or anything, but between the attacks and the other stuff (I recommend the series on this from The Last Podcast on the Left) I will say nothing of value was lost. He really was a dirtbag.

Rad Bandolar · Jul 5, 2018

RustyNails said:
Whats the deal with all the crazy cults that started popping up in the 80's and 90s and suddenly stopped after the 00's began?Rajneeshis, Branch Dravidians, this guy, Jim Jones, etc. Seems like it was an international thing.

A good mix of disaffected youth and Millennial anxiety in the run-up to 2000.

The cults never went away. One of the biggest in the world is right here in the US.

tabris · Jul 5, 2018

This is such a shame. Japan is very progressive in a lot of ways but still a bit backwards on a lot of things.

Does this guy deserve his life? No. But we a society should be better then responding with death.

If you want to see a model for how a society should treat some awful person like this? See Norway and Breivek.

Vas · Jul 5, 2018

Rad Bandolar said:
A good mix of disaffected youth and Millennial anxiety in the run-up to 2000.

The cults never went away. One of the biggest in the world is right here in the US.

Yet, Scientology's member numbers are literally a fraction of what they were even 20 years ago. There's something to be said for what led to the rise of cults after WWII and what led to their decline.

DrewFu · Jul 5, 2018

RustyNails said:
Whats the deal with all the crazy cults that started popping up in the 80's and 90s and suddenly stopped after the 00's began?Rajneeshis, Branch Dravidians, this guy, Jim Jones, etc. Seems like it was an international thing.

My guess would be most have moved online. There's no longer a need to move to a trailer compound in the middle of nowhere.

tabris · Jul 5, 2018

RustyNails said:
Whats the deal with all the crazy cults that started popping up in the 80's and 90s and suddenly stopped after the 00's began?Rajneeshis, Branch Dravidians, this guy, Jim Jones, etc. Seems like it was an international thing.

Japans culture shifted so significantly from the rise and fall of the bubble era of the 80s and 90s. I don't think we will ever see an economic bubble as large as Japan in the 80s.

EDIT - To explain the rise of cults in Japan.

Firaga · Jul 5, 2018

RustyNails said:
Whats the deal with all the crazy cults that started popping up in the 80's and 90s and suddenly stopped after the 00's began?Rajneeshis, Branch Dravidians, this guy, Jim Jones, etc. Seems like it was an international thing.

Have you heard about the cult of Donald Trump.

MistaTwo · Jul 5, 2018

tabris said:
This is such a shame. Japan is very progressive in a lot of ways but still a bit backwards on a lot of things.

Does this guy deserve his life? No. But we a society should be better then responding with death.

If you want to see a model for how a society should treat some awful person like this? See Norway and Breivek.

I am generally against capital punishment for normal crimes, especially because there isn't a perfect justice system out there and innocents
can just as easily be put on death row.

However, this is a monster who carried out a terrorist attack on innocents just going about their daily lives. There is no grey area there,
and I would honestly be livid if I knew he were enjoying a prison room nicer and more luxurious than most hotels in the country.

Rad Bandolar · Jul 5, 2018

Vas said:
Yet, Scientology's member numbers are literally a fraction of what they were even 20 years ago. There's something to be said for what led to the rise of cults after WWII and what led to their decline.

I was making a joke about Cult45, but you're right about Scientology.

chrisPjelly · Jul 5, 2018

tabris said:
This is such a shame. Japan is very progressive in a lot of ways but still a bit backwards on a lot of things.

Does this guy deserve his life? No. But we a society should be better then responding with death.

If you want to see a model for how a society should treat some awful person like this? See Norway and Breivek.

Not to single you out or antagonize you, but I do wonder about people who staunchly are against capital punishment. Is there not a line for you guys? Is a terrorist that smugly admits to orchestrating mass homicide not enough? Will you make the same comment towards serial pedophile/killer being put on death row? Should I bring out the Hitler card? Are you seriously telling me that anyone of those examples is capable of being reintegrated into society? Or is the answer as simple as not wanting tax payer money to be wasted on the execution expenses?

rubidium · Jul 5, 2018

MistaTwo said:
I am generally against capital punishment for normal crimes, especially because there isn't a perfect justice system out there and innocents
can just as easily be put on death row.

However, this is a monster who carried out a terrorist attack on innocents just going about their daily lives. There is no grey area there,
and I would honestly be livid if I knew he were enjoying a prison room nicer and more luxurious than most hotels in the country.

Basically this. They even had sarin enough to wipe out entire population of Japan. They also had steel mill plants (taken over from locals), military choppers and so on.
There was a brave lawyer in Japan who was going after them, but the entire family was kidnapped, killed by injection, and their corpse were microwaved to dust to wipe out any trace of evidence..

(Those who got hanged were charged for genociding this lawyer family also, accounted a lot for capital punishment).

Celestine · Jul 5, 2018

Pizza_King said:
My guess would be most have moved online. There's no longer a need to move to a trailer compound in the middle of nowhere.

Yeah, I was thinking of this very thing while watching Wild Wild Country on Netflix. "These poor people, if they wanted to be around others who had their crazy shit in common they had to PHYSICALLY move to them."
Now that we all have the Internet we can group up with other crazies without effort. You can basically join a commune from the comfort of your own home. Yay!

As for this guy, as someone who lives in Tokyo what he did is terrifying. No tears shed for him at all, even though I am against the death penalty.

tabris · Jul 5, 2018

chrisPjelly said:
Not to single you out or antagonize you, but I do wonder about people who staunchly are against capital punishment. Is there not a line for you guys? Is a terrorist that smugly admits to orchestrating mass homicide not enough? Will you make the same comment towards serial pedophile/killer being put on death row? Should I bring out the Hitler card? Are you seriously telling me that anyone of those examples is capable of being reintegrated into society? Or is the answer as simple as not wanting tax payer money to be wasted on the execution expenses?

There is not a single line for me. I don't support any form of capital punishment for someone who surrendered to the state / law.

Lock them in jail for their entire life with no outside world connection. Unless there is a risk of escape or outside involvement (i.e. using Hitler card you mentioned, if there were a bunch of Nazis out there where keeping him alive kept the movement alive, then there may be a consideration).

It's not about the person but about the society who would give them capital punishment, ya know what I mean?

MistaTwo · Jul 5, 2018

tabris said:
There is not a single line for me. I don't support any form of capital punishment for someone who surrendered to the state / law.

Lock them in jail for their entire life with no outside world connection. Unless there is a risk of escape or outside involvement (i.e. using Hitler card you mentioned, if there were a bunch of Nazis out there where keeping him alive kept the movement alive, then there may be a consideration).

It's not about the person but about the society who would give them capital punishment, ya know what I mean?

If I remember right, right after he was hunted down and arrested for the sarin attack his followers sent a parcel bomb to a politician and ended up blowing off the hand of an office worker.
The government has done what they can to snuff the cult out, but I still believe there are a few thousand active followers out there, though they are supposedly monitored very closely.

I have a lot of issues with the Japanese justice system and how capital punishment is handled here, but I really do feel like everyone is better off without this mass murderer around to inspire anyone.

Deleted member 5359 · Jul 5, 2018

chrisPjelly said:
Not to single you out or antagonize you, but I do wonder about people who staunchly are against capital punishment. Is there not a line for you guys? Is a terrorist that smugly admits to orchestrating mass homicide not enough? Will you make the same comment towards serial pedophile/killer being put on death row? Should I bring out the Hitler card? Are you seriously telling me that anyone of those examples is capable of being reintegrated into society? Or is the answer as simple as not wanting tax payer money to be wasted on the execution expenses?

There are fates worse than death. And I don't mean torture.

tabris · Jul 5, 2018

Blade Runner said:
There are fates worse than death. And I don't mean torture.

"The worst of the Eight Hells is called Continuous Hell. It has the meaning of Continuous Suffering. Thus the name."

chrisPjelly · Jul 5, 2018

tabris said:
There is not a single line for me. I don't support any form of capital punishment for someone who surrendered to the state / law.

Lock them in jail for their entire life with no outside world connection. Unless there is a risk of escape or outside involvement (i.e. using Hitler card you mentioned, if there were a bunch of Nazis out there where keeping him alive kept the movement alive, then there may be a consideration).

It's not about the person but about the society who would give them capital punishment, ya know what I mean?

I sort of get what you mean, but I personally don't think everybody is complicit in capital punishment if it becomes an accepted practice. If that were the case, I'd feel more shitty about having taxes being pumped into prisons indiscriminately and possibly going towards the lowest of criminals. I'll agree to disagree, but using the your reaction to people of higher notoriety, I absolutely believe this cult leader should be wiped from existence. His ideas and practices are a virus, and I fear the possibility of him reaching out to vulnerable people, both in prison and through those who are following the case with genuine excitement.

Fat4all · Jul 5, 2018

MistaTwo said:
If I remember right, right after he was hunted down and arrested for the sarin attack his followers sent a parcel bomb to a politician and ended up blowing off the hand of an office worker.
The government has done what they can to snuff the cult out, but I still believe there are a few thousand active followers out there, though they are supposedly monitored very closely.

I have a lot of issues with the Japanese justice system and how capital punishment is handled here, but I really do feel like everyone is better off without this mass murderer around to inspire anyone.

One of the heads of the investigation was also shot and killed, either by a member of Aum or by someone they hired

signal · Jul 5, 2018

Unless you can enforce total isolation for the rest of their life, people like this who have shown the ability to influence and control others are arguably better candidates for execution than the murderers themselves.

Shelbyville Milhouse · Jul 5, 2018

chrisPjelly said:
Not to single you out or antagonize you, but I do wonder about people who staunchly are against capital punishment. Is there not a line for you guys? Is a terrorist that smugly admits to orchestrating mass homicide not enough? Will you make the same comment towards serial pedophile/killer being put on death row? Should I bring out the Hitler card? Are you seriously telling me that anyone of those examples is capable of being reintegrated into society? Or is the answer as simple as not wanting tax payer money to be wasted on the execution expenses?

Nobody was talking about "reintegrating" this dude.
And yes, I do think a quick bullet to the head was way too good for Hitler, so please bring out that card.

ForgeForsaken · Jul 5, 2018

Aum was kind of fascinating, in how they went after scientists and were trying to build a death ray.

Fat4all · Jul 5, 2018

The cult is responsible for a lot of deaths, including their own members/members families

I think they found like 80 metal drums where they microwaved, liquefied, and crusted the bodies of a LOT of people

siddx · Jul 5, 2018

I remember the attacks and knew of the guy but didn't know much about the cult until recently. It was fucking horrifying what they did besides the attacks and the accounts of all their failed gas attacks are mind boggling. They could have killed so many more people had they not made a few key fuck ups.

Gustaf · Jul 5, 2018

never knew about this, kinda reminds me of 20th century boys

MistaTwo · Jul 5, 2018

Fantastapotamus said:
Nobody was talking about "reintegrating" this dude.
And yes, I do think a quick bullet to the head was way too good for Hitler, so please bring out that card.

Well, he specifically called out the Norway prison system where the purpose is 100% to try and reintegrate criminals.

And in most cases, I would 100% agree that is the way a modern society should handle crime. They have the numbers to prove it works too.

chrisPjelly · Jul 5, 2018

Fantastapotamus said:
Nobody was talking about "reintegrating" this dude.
And yes, I do think a quick bullet to the head was way too good for Hitler, so please bring out that card.

When you bring up certain European prison systems, yes, you are generally talking about that prisons that focus on rehabilitation and humane treatment. Not saying that this at all a bad thing, but I don't want that option offered to a unabashed mass murderer. That's all.

SaltyGeneralTso · Jul 5, 2018

Anyone else listen to the last podcast on the left episodes about this cult? Really interesting stuff, especially the strategy of targeting lonely sci-fi nerds because of their low sense of belonging and relative high intelligence. Really makes me weary of gigantic media fandoms like Star Wars and Nintendo fans, some fans really don't act too dissimilar to cultists.

Ashidome · Jul 5, 2018

tabris said:
This is such a shame. Japan is very progressive in a lot of ways but still a bit backwards on a lot of things.

Does this guy deserve his life? No. But we a society should be better then responding with death.

If you want to see a model for how a society should treat some awful person like this? See Norway and Breivek.

Agreed.
But it's extra fucked up that they HANG them. If you kill people, do it 100% painless. Hanging isn't that. :/

AcademicSaucer · Jul 5, 2018

This is the guys responsible for there being almost no trash cans over there right?

Fat4all · Jul 5, 2018

AcademicSaucer said:
This is the guys responsible for there being almost no trash cans over there right?

Yeah, that was a reaction to the attack.

Ogodei · Jul 5, 2018

chrisPjelly said:
Not to single you out or antagonize you, but I do wonder about people who staunchly are against capital punishment. Is there not a line for you guys? Is a terrorist that smugly admits to orchestrating mass homicide not enough? Will you make the same comment towards serial pedophile/killer being put on death row? Should I bring out the Hitler card? Are you seriously telling me that anyone of those examples is capable of being reintegrated into society? Or is the answer as simple as not wanting tax payer money to be wasted on the execution expenses?

It doesn't fit in moral standards outside of extreme examples (the Hitler card, or like if they had captured this guy and had people fanatically attacking the prison to try and free him). The cases where a criminal post-capture deserves to die is vanishingly small. The goal of a just society should be to minimize harm, and execution is harm to a person.

Criminal justice should not be about punishment, it should be about restitution, rehabilitation (if possible), and public safety. Get the criminal to do what they can to put right the wrong, get them back into society as a safely functioning member, and keep people safe from crime. Prison should really only be for violent crimes and repeat offenders, people who've proven their inability to abide safely in society.

Miletius · Jul 5, 2018

Ashidome said:
Agreed.
But it's extra fucked up that they HANG them. If you kill people, do it 100% painless. Hanging isn't that. :/

It's much worse than that. Japanese caiptal punishment system is fucked up, because they don't set a date. That means people can spend years not knowing if they are going to wake up to their last day. Drives a lot of people nuts. Compared to that, hanging isn't that bad. They don't do it by strangulation, but by snap of the neck so it's over rather quickly, theoretically.

I don't have much sympathy for this person in particular. It's a pretty open and shut case -- he was the leader after all. I remember coming home from school and really everybody was just completely shell-shocked by what had occurred. It was unthinkable that this sort of thing could happen so close to home.

Jpop · Jul 5, 2018

RustyNails said:
Whats the deal with all the crazy cults that started popping up in the 80's and 90s and suddenly stopped after the 00's began?Rajneeshis, Branch Dravidians, this guy, Jim Jones, etc. Seems like it was an international thing.

Cults often prey on lonely /depressed people.

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people they preyed on found online communities versus being slowly integrated into a cult.

Deleted member 32250 · Jul 5, 2018

Ashidome said:
Agreed.
But it's extra fucked up that they HANG them. If you kill people, do it 100% painless. Hanging isn't that. :/

Oh boo hoo. Just reading the horrible things this guy did in this thread alone removes all sympathy for him.

Fat4all · Jul 5, 2018

There were a fuckton of various cult/religious groups popping up in Japan in the 80's

it was a lot like post-WW2 america

prosperity can breed people trying to take advantage of others

Dreamboum · Jul 5, 2018

chrisPjelly said:
Not to single you out or antagonize you, but I do wonder about people who staunchly are against capital punishment. Is there not a line for you guys? Is a terrorist that smugly admits to orchestrating mass homicide not enough? Will you make the same comment towards serial pedophile/killer being put on death row? Should I bring out the Hitler card? Are you seriously telling me that anyone of those examples is capable of being reintegrated into society? Or is the answer as simple as not wanting tax payer money to be wasted on the execution expenses?

There is no fine line. Capital punishment is fucked up. That's just playing God.

And who cares about taxpayer money ? The life of a person is worth more than what you pay in taxes, no matter how evil they are. And it has been proven again and again that death row inmates costs millions more than perpetuity in America.

I wouldn't wish waking up for the next 23 years not knowing when they'll *hang* you on anybody.

Occam · Jul 5, 2018

Not gonna shed a tear but he probably should have spent the rest of his life in a mental institution instead.
The death penalty in general and the killing of mentally ill people by the state in specific does not reflect well on a society.

signal · Jul 5, 2018

Occam said:
He probably should have spent the rest of his life in a mental institution.
The death penalty in general and the killing of mentally ill people by the state in specific does not reflect well on a society.

People who have the ability to control others such as cult leaders should not be put in traditionally minimum security settings like a mental institution.

Kthulhu · Jul 5, 2018

chrisPjelly said:
Not to single you out or antagonize you, but I do wonder about people who staunchly are against capital punishment. Is there not a line for you guys? Is a terrorist that smugly admits to orchestrating mass homicide not enough? Will you make the same comment towards serial pedophile/killer being put on death row? Should I bring out the Hitler card? Are you seriously telling me that anyone of those examples is capable of being reintegrated into society? Or is the answer as simple as not wanting tax payer money to be wasted on the execution expenses?

Because the law applies to everyone. Is it really worth killing a horrible person if it means there is a very decent chance you might kill an innocent person?

Better to keep them in prison for life. That way if the government screws up at least they can let that person out.

chrisPjelly · Jul 5, 2018

Ogodei said:
It doesn't fit in moral standards outside of extreme examples (the Hitler card, or like if they had captured this guy and had people fanatically attacking the prison to try and free him). The cases where a criminal post-capture deserves to die is vanishingly small. The goal of a just society should be to minimize harm, and execution is harm to a person.

Criminal justice should not be about punishment, it should be about restitution, rehabilitation (if possible), and public safety. Get the criminal to do what they can to put right the wrong, get them back into society as a safely functioning member, and keep people safe from crime. Prison should really only be for violent crimes and repeat offenders, people who've proven their inability to abide safely in society.

Oh I absolutely agree. The American privatized system is a piece of garbage and sets a terrible example for first world nations. I just find it odd that that argument is brought up for THIS specific individual; who, debatedly, can still do damage behind the bars.

Japan executed the leader of Aum Shinrikyo (cult behind the 1995 sarin gas attack)

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