Category: Aum Shinrikyo

Aum Shinrikyo cult successor Aleph wins damages, government apology

A court has ruled that the Tokyo Metropolitan government must pay damages, and apologize, to Aleph — the successor of the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult — for suggesting Aum was responsible for the attempted murder of Japan’s national chief of police.

Aum Shinrikyo is best known for its March 20, 1995 terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway system, during which cult members released nerve gas.

Ex-AUM cult member faces fresh arrest warrant over nerve agent attacks

Naoka Kikuchi Police in Japan will serve a fresh arrest warrant against former AUM Shinkrikyo member Naoko Kikuchi on suspicion of murder and attempted murder in connection with three VX nerve agent attacks in 1994 and 1995.

Kikuchi was arrested earlier this month after 17 years on the run, wanted for allegedly playing a role in the production of the nerve agent used in the cult’s deadly attack on the Tokyo subway.

Cult experts hope pending Aum Shinrikyo cult trial will raise awareness

Aum Shinrikyo The upcoming trials of the last three Aum Shinrikyo cult members will inevitably revisit the atrocities committed by the cultists, whose spiritual pursuits under guru Shoko Asahara claimed 29 lives and left more than 6,500 people injured.

Cult experts hope that revisiting Aum’s mayhem will raise public awareness of the potential dangers of joining cults.