Neo-fascist ringleader admits attacking leftists, cult

Ichiro Murakami, the leader of a neo-fascist samurai sword appreciation society, has pleaded guilty to a series of charges, including violent attacks on pro-Pyongyang Koreans and the AUM Shinrikyo death cult.

Murakami, 55, entered the guilty plea at the opening of his Tokyo District Court trial for a series of alleged crimes including blackmail and firearms control law violations.

The court also heard that Murakami had deliberately gone out to attack high profile targets to gain publicity for his ultra right-wing beliefs, then boasted about his bravado to members of his club.

Prosecutors said Murakami formed his samurai sword appreciation society in about 1995, then used it to launch an arson attack on the Fukui Prefecture branch of Chosen Soren, the organization of ethnic Koreans in Japan who support North Korea’s hermetic communist regime. The attack, prosecutors said, was a reprisal for Pyongyang’s kidnapping of Japanese citizens.

However, when response to the attack was muffled, prosecutors said Murakami escalated his campaign of terror, forming a new group trained in the use of firearms and targeting AUM Shinrikyo, the group that unleashed the lethal 1995 gassing of the Tokyo subway system.

Murakami’s group was also responsible for threats and shootings directed at prominent politicians, including former top Liberal Democratic Party stalwarts Hiromu Nonaka and Koichi Kato.

Murakami is one of 15 charged in connection with the attacks.

Read Another Article

Feng Shui masters revel as Asian property picks up
In Iraq, ancient sect quietly lives on faith

Related News Articles Topic(s): Hate Groups Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Hate Groups Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog