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Aum Shinrikyo

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Two former members of the cult AUM Shinrikyo, Toru Toyoda (41) and Kenichi Hirose (45), had their death sentences upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday for their involvement in the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system that killed 12 people and hospitalized thousands.
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A secret stash of money apparently hidden by a member of the Aum Shinrikyo killer cult — notorious for its poison gas attacks on Japan’s metro system, as well as a range of other crimes — has been turned over to a fund set up for its victims.

which handed the money to the organization after the expiration of a three-month retention period, is investigating whether the money was used to provide support for wanted AUM fugitives.
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The RNB Religion News Roundup for Friday, Apr. 24, 2009 includes items about Scientology, Aum Shinrikyo, Korean cult leader Jeong Myeong-Seok, the continuing popularity of Aum Shrinrikyo’s jailed cult leader, and China’s on-going ban on Falun Gong.

Also: • A US state must pay benefits to the wife of a Jehovah’s Witness who died after refusing a blood transfusion  • A killer turned pastor upsets his victim’s son  • Nigerian preacher speaks out against witch hunts  • Vampire story gets demoted…

Plus: what do you see? Pareidolia?
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The 14th anniversary of the Aum Shinrikyo cult’s deadly 1995 sarin nerve gas attacks was marked Friday in a ceremony at the Tokyo subway’s Kasumigaseki Station.

The attacks took the lives of 12 people, including two subway workers at Kasumigaseki Station in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, and sickened more than 5,500 others. [video]
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The Tokyo District Court has dismissed a request for a retrial of AUM Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, who was sentenced to death for crimes including the deadly sarin gassing of Tokyo’s subway system in 1995.

Lawyers for Asahara, 54, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, had provided testimony by former AUM executive Seiichi Endo, 48, who denied that Asahara was involved in the subway gassing. However, the court dismissed the credibility of the testimony. [video]
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The agency decided to file the request with the Public Security Examination Commission, concluding that the group could commit indiscriminate mass murders because it is still under the strong influence of founder, Chizuo Matsumoto, 53, also known as Shoko Asahara.

The agency also asked for the surveillance extension to include Hikari no Wa, a new group established by Fumihiro Joyu, a 45-year-old former senior Aum member. The agency believes the splinter group is still integral to the cult.
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Bankruptcy procedures for AUM Shinrikyo have effectively ended, but victims of the 1995 sarin gas attacks on Tokyo’s subway system and other crimes by cult members have received only 40 percent of the compensation that they should have been paid, the receiver said Wednesday.

The victims will also receive up to 30 million yen each from the central government depending on their degree of suffering under a relief law set to take effect Dec. 18. [video]
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Lawyers for the Japanese doomsday cult leader on death row for ordering a deadly nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995 have requested a retrial, a court official said Tuesday.

The petition was based on what Asahara’s lawyers considered new evidence from testimony by a senior member of the cult that the attacks had been carried out against their leader’s wishes.
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Sumiko Kono, who survived an AUM Shinrikyo cult sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in 1994 but was left bedridden and comatose, died Tuesday of respiratory failure, people familiar with her said.

The Japanese cult has a history of violence. Nevertheless, it was for a while defended by cult apologists who suggested investigation of the ‘new religious movement’ was akin to religious persecution.
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The Diet recently passed into law a bill designed to provide state benefits to victims of crimes committed by the Aum Supreme Truth cult, but stopped short of requiring the central government to compensate victims of the indiscriminate terrorist attacks.
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“Thirteen years of efforts (to seek legislation on compensation for victims) finally bore fruit. I feel a sense of accomplishment,” one victim said.

She lost her 50-year-old husband Kazumasa, who worked as an assistant station master at Kasumigaseki Subway Station, when it was gassed by the cult in 1995.
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Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, new religious movements, alternative religions, abusive churches and - to a lesser extent - related issues (e.g. ethics, human rights).

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Most Read about Aum Shinrikyo

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1. Attack leaves Japan Fearing The Routine
2. Agency: Aum Shinrikyo worshipping Matsumoto, justifying attacks
3. Profile: Shoko Asahara
4. Top Court Rejects Asahara Appeal, Finalizing Death Sentence
5. Murderous sect changes name
6. Asahara found guilty on all charges, sentenced to death
7. Chronology of Events Related to Asahara's Trial
8. Tokyo cult finds an unlikely supporter
9. Joyu Group Leaves AUM to Form New Organization
10. Alleged Persecution of Cult Investigated

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