Former member of Aum Shinrikyo expresses regret 30 years on
A former senior member of Aum Shinrikyo expressed regret over his involvement in the doomsday cult in an interview ahead of the 30th anniversary of its sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
"I followed him despite thinking it wasn't right," the 59-year-old man said of his devotion to Aum guru Chizuo Matsumoto, who went by the name Shoko Asahara.
"I should have trusted my instincts," he said.
The former Aum member received a prison sentence in the first lay judge trial of the group over his involvement in a February 1995 abduction and an explosion at the former home of a religious scholar the day before the March 20, 1995, sarin gas attack. He served his sentence and was released in 2022.
"Asahara may have had a desire for destruction," he said of the cult leader's orders to carry out the sarin gas attack. He said that Matsumoto may have been seeking to trigger the end of the world based on his teaching that Armageddon was inevitable.
Aum repeatedly produced and used biological weapons such as the bacteria Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism, and Bacillus anthracis, which causes anthrax, as well as chemical weapons including sarin gas and the VX nerve agent.
The former Aum member said he was not informed of such activities. "I don't know why Asahara started producing poisonous gases, but it may have been for self-defense," he said.
The man joined cult and donated all of his property to it in 1987 at the age of 21 after feeling that life was meaningless. "I felt free after cutting off ties with society," he recalled.
When he met Matsumoto for the first time, he felt the guru was a "monster" who was able to see through him.
The cult leader's preaching gradually became absurd, claiming that he was subject to poisonous gas attacks by Freemasons and claiming that he would become the king of Japan, prompting the former member to start harboring doubts. Still, the man was unable to leave the group, as it had members whom he had guided.
Being criticized by people outside the cult made him more religious, he added.
The man said that as someone who chose a life not bound to material things in the heat of Japan's asset-driven bubble economic boom, he sympathizes with modern youths who also do not want to have possessions.
Still, he expressed surprise over existence of so-called lone wolves who commit terrorist attacks, saying he and others "took action because of Asahara, a charismatic figure."
After being released from prison, the former member found employment. Last month, he completed compensation payments he had promised to family members of the abductee from February 1995.
But he said "there is no end to atonement," adding that he regrets not being able to say during his time in the cult that things were not right.
The man has decided to live the rest of his life in a way that does not repeat his past mistakes.
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The Mainichi
21-05-2025
- The Mainichi
Crying brought no mercy: Rescuing the children of the Aum cult in Japan
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Almost a month after the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult unleashed a devastating nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subway system on March 20, 1995, dozens of abused, famished children were rescued from its compound in Yamanashi Prefecture. The deadliest terrorist attack in Japan's history left 14 people dead and thousands injured. In its long aftermath, national attention mostly focused on the perpetrators. But Aum cultists had children who were separated from them and ruthlessly indoctrinated, innocent victims who have largely been forgotten. Two weeks after the attack, Mitsuo Hosaka, now 78, was working at a child welfare center in Yamanashi when police told him he would have to take charge of some of the children rescued from the Aum compound known as Satyam. Over 100 in total were saved, some taken in by relatives. When the 53 children arrived by bus on April 14, they were hungry and dirty, some so weak they could not stand. Hosaka was astounded by their expressionless faces. Some wore strange "enlightenment" headgear designed by cult founder Shoko Asahara and his team of engineers. In a recent interview with Kyodo News, Hosaka explained how he and his colleagues were determined to provide the children with a space that would make them feel safe. There were 27 boys and 26 girls, aged 4 to 14. A doctor decided eight needed to be hospitalized. The remainder had to be fed right away. "They had poor manners, and almost all of them scooped the food up with their bare hands," Hosaka said. "They wanted seconds and thirds. They licked their bowls clean." Aside from nourishment, the children needed help with bathing. From the day after their arrival, they played like mad and became filthy. They had been restricted from going out and were told poison gas attacks were happening. But even while playing, the children seemed to have no sense of camaraderie and would not play together. As victims of brainwashing, their mental health was the more difficult task. They were hostile and demanded to be returned to Aum. Some even tried to escape. But none said they missed their parents -- Asahara had forbidden that. "In the Aum teachings, the parent-child relationship is denied as an example of the desire for worldly things," Hosaka said. "They said they'd rather die than say they wanted to see their parents." Abuse was the norm at Satyam. An Aum "Minister of Education" would instruct the children for an hour every day. Their time was devoted to ascetic practices, singing Aum songs and sitting crossed-legged in the "zazen" lotus position. Those deemed to lack sincerity had their hands and feet bound. Some were held in this "bound lotus position" for 24 hours and could not even go to the bathroom. Tears were met with silence. The children were very afraid to talk about what they endured. But Hosaka began to see a change about a week after their arrival. Instead of playing by themselves, they began to play baseball, soccer and other team sports. They no longer spoke to staff in harsh tones. Gradually, smiles appeared. "I was happy to hear them call me 'sensei' for the first time after about a month," said Hosaka, whom the children had referred to using his surname without the honorific suffix "-san." Meanwhile, in the outside world, aftershocks of the subway attack continued. For weeks, staff restricted news about Aum. When the children were allowed access to TV, newspapers and radio to get them integrated into society, the arrest of Asahara struck a nerve. The children at first protested that the charges were lies. Yet they seemed to be going through the motions. The next day, they softened their tone. While playing, they viewed the news with disinterest. They were beginning to regain their childlike selves. Some began acting like toddlers. They became spoiled, selfish and clingy. "I guess they had been suppressing their desire to be spoiled by someone for a long time," Hosaka said. "They followed the nursing staff at the center around, demanding to be held and given piggyback rides." This, according to Hosaka, is a type of "re-pampering." Being able to trust and be spoiled by others was important for their integration. Three sets of parents and children were allowed meetings. The parents had left the cult and were judged to have no negative impact on the children. Hosaka recalled a visit by the mother of a 9-year-old girl, who at first refused a reunion. On the second attempt, the girl repeatedly asked, "Why is it only me?" Finally, the staff half-dragged her out to a garden where her mother was waiting. The mother slowly approached her, and they both stood frozen, facing each other. The mother then burst into tears. Her daughter's tears followed. "Before we knew it, they were hugging each other and crying silently. The staff cried along with them," said Hosaka, adding, "A boy who was watching said, 'Hey, can you get my mother to come and visit tomorrow?'" Hosaka vividly remembers the girl's pictures. Before their reunion, she drew her mother with a blank facial expression and lines drawn over it. Afterward, she drew her mom with a smiling face. Asahara's grip was slowly breaking. From April 25, the children began transfers to national child guidance centers. Children who were initially indifferent to their peers leaving began to wish them well. The last person to depart was a boy who was recognized by Asahara as the "youngest enlightened person." He was intelligent and, initially, very defiant. "He once stared me down when I asked him to do something, using tough words. He said, 'Is this optional or an order?'" Still, after about two months, even he began to smile. "In the end, he acted like a normal kid. He said, 'Come to my place and play some day,' waved good-bye and left." By July 12, after about three months at the center, all 53 children had left, ending their relationship with Hosaka. He never saw them again. "What type of adults did they become? Were they able to adapt to society? Are they happy today? Even now, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about those children." Hosaka believes that denying the parent-child relationship was one of the cult's gravest offenses. "Children develop a sense of self-esteem and trust in the world when they are loved by someone. If they are not properly cared for, they may continue to have difficulty living later." Being raised amid extreme views of parenting rooted in religion creates a harsh parent-child relationship, he adds. Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, and 12 former Aum members were executed on July 6 and 26, 2018. The cult splintered into groups including Hikari no Wa, which continues to be under government surveillance. (By Manami Misono)
Japan Times
18-05-2025
- Japan Times
1,400 photos donated to remember horrors of Aum Shinrikyo cult
A 97-year-old man from central Japan has donated about 1,400 photos taken during his years of confronting the now-defunct Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult. The former village of Kamikuishiki, currently the town of Fujikawaguchiko in Yamanashi Prefecture, was once home to the largest Aum Shinrikyo base in Japan. Kamikuishiki resident Seiichi Takeuchi waged a battle against the group from the time the cult set up the base in the village's Fujigane district in 1989. At the base, the group put up many facilities, called "satyam," some of which were used to manufacture sarin nerve gas. Aum Shinrikyo used the nerve gas in an attack on Tokyo's subway system in 1995, which left 14 people dead and over 6,000 others injured. The cult finally left the village in 1996, after the arrest of its leader Chizuo Matsumoto, who went by the name of Shoko Asahara, in 1995. Matsumoto was executed in 2018. According to Takeuchi, one of the first things the cult did after moving into the village was to build a 3-meter-high wall around a plot of grassland and start constructing facilities within it. Takeuchi, who was a key member of a group of local residents, lodged protests each time there was an issue involving the cult. Every time, the cult asked for evidence, prompting Takeuchi to carry around a camera and snap photos. Takeuchi said that the infamous guru directly told him that he was fueling anti-Aum Shinrikyo sentiment among local residents. He also found that his phone had been bugged. Despite the frightening situation, Takeuchi continued to take pictures on his camera until the cult's Kamikuishiki facilities were demolished in 1998. Some 1,400 photos include ones capturing the strange-smelling white smoke escaping from a window of a facility used to manufacture sarin gas and of discolored plants near the cult's base. Seiichi Takeuchi, who has donated about 1,400 photos he took during his years of confronting the now-defunct Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, speaks in an interview last month. | Jiji After a request from police, Takeuchi provided a photo of a car crash that occurred at the village. A truck that was in the background of the photo was the same vehicle later used in a sarin gas attack in the city of Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture in 1994, which left eight people dead and over 140 others injured. Takeuchi has provided police and the Public Security Intelligence Agency with his photos over the years. Nearly 30 years after the cult left the village, Takeuchi donated his photos to the town of Fujikawaguchiko in March this year. "I hope people don't forget what happened," Takeuchi said, adding that he hopes many people will see his photos. The town government currently has about 130 photos, mainly those of the Aum Shinrikyo facilities, on display at a local educational center.
Kyodo News
17-05-2025
- Kyodo News
FEATURE: Crying brought no mercy: Rescuing the children of the Aum cult
By Manami Misono, KYODO NEWS - 3 hours ago - 12:40 | Feature, All, Japan Almost a month after the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult unleashed a devastating nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subway system on March 20, 1995, dozens of abused, famished children were rescued from its compound in Yamanashi Prefecture. The deadliest terrorist attack in Japan's history left 14 people dead and thousands injured. In its long aftermath, national attention mostly focused on the perpetrators. But Aum cultists had children who were separated from them and ruthlessly indoctrinated, innocent victims who have largely been forgotten. Two weeks after the attack, Mitsuo Hosaka, now 78, was working at a child welfare center in Yamanashi when police told him he would have to take charge of some of the children rescued from the Aum compound known as Satyam. Over 100 in total were saved, some taken in by relatives. When the 53 children arrived by bus on April 14, they were hungry and dirty, some so weak they could not stand. Hosaka was astounded by their expressionless faces. Some wore strange "enlightenment" headgear designed by cult founder Shoko Asahara and his team of engineers. In a recent interview with Kyodo News, Hosaka explained how he and his colleagues were determined to provide the children with a space that would make them feel safe. There were 27 boys and 26 girls, aged 4 to 14. A doctor decided eight needed to be hospitalized. The remainder had to be fed right away. "They had poor manners, and almost all of them scooped the food up with their bare hands," Hosaka said. "They wanted seconds and thirds. They licked their bowls clean." Aside from nourishment, the children needed help with bathing. From the day after their arrival, they played like mad and became filthy. They had been restricted from going out and were told poison gas attacks were happening. But even while playing, the children seemed to have no sense of camaraderie and would not play together. As victims of brainwashing, their mental health was the more difficult task. They were hostile and demanded to be returned to Aum. Some even tried to escape. But none said they missed their parents -- Asahara had forbidden that. "In the Aum teachings, the parent-child relationship is denied as an example of the desire for worldly things," Hosaka said. "They said they'd rather die than say they wanted to see their parents." Abuse was the norm at Satyam. An Aum "Minister of Education" would instruct the children for an hour every day. Their time was devoted to ascetic practices, singing Aum songs and sitting crossed-legged in the "zazen" lotus position. Those deemed to lack sincerity had their hands and feet bound. Some were held in this "bound lotus position" for 24 hours and could not even go to the bathroom. Tears were met with silence. The children were very afraid to talk about what they endured. But Hosaka began to see a change about a week after their arrival. Instead of playing by themselves, they began to play baseball, soccer and other team sports. They no longer spoke to staff in harsh tones. Gradually, smiles appeared. "I was happy to hear them call me 'sensei' for the first time after about a month," said Hosaka, whom the children had referred to using his surname without the honorific suffix "-san." Meanwhile, in the outside world, aftershocks of the subway attack continued. For weeks, staff restricted news about Aum. When the children were allowed access to TV, newspapers and radio to get them integrated into society, the arrest of Asahara struck a nerve. The children at first protested that the charges were lies. Yet they seemed to be going through the motions. The next day, they softened their tone. While playing, they viewed the news with disinterest. They were beginning to regain their childlike selves. Some began acting like toddlers. They became spoiled, selfish and clingy. "I guess they had been suppressing their desire to be spoiled by someone for a long time," Hosaka said. "They followed the nursing staff at the center around, demanding to be held and given piggyback rides." This, according to Hosaka, is a type of "re-pampering." Being able to trust and be spoiled by others was important for their integration. Three sets of parents and children were allowed meetings. The parents had left the cult and were judged to have no negative impact on the children. Hosaka recalled a visit by the mother of a 9-year-old girl, who at first refused a reunion. On the second attempt, the girl repeatedly asked, "Why is it only me?" Finally, the staff half-dragged her out to a garden where her mother was waiting. The mother slowly approached her, and they both stood frozen, facing each other. The mother then burst into tears. Her daughter's tears followed. "Before we knew it, they were hugging each other and crying silently. The staff cried along with them," said Hosaka, adding, "A boy who was watching said, 'Hey, can you get my mother to come and visit tomorrow?'" Hosaka vividly remembers the girl's pictures. Before their reunion, she drew her mother with a blank facial expression and lines drawn over it. Afterward, she drew her mom with a smiling face. Asahara's grip was slowly breaking. From April 25, the children began transfers to national child guidance centers. Children who were initially indifferent to their peers leaving began to wish them well. The last person to depart was a boy who was recognized by Asahara as the "youngest enlightened person." He was intelligent and, initially, very defiant. "He once stared me down when I asked him to do something, using tough words. He said, 'Is this optional or an order?'" Still, after about two months, even he began to smile. "In the end, he acted like a normal kid. He said, 'Come to my place and play some day,' waved good-bye and left." By July 12, after about three months at the center, all 53 children had left, ending their relationship with Hosaka. He never saw them again. "What type of adults did they become? Were they able to adapt to society? Are they happy today? Even now, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about those children." Hosaka believes that denying the parent-child relationship was one of the cult's gravest offenses. "Children develop a sense of self-esteem and trust in the world when they are loved by someone. If they are not properly cared for, they may continue to have difficulty living later." Being raised amid extreme views of parenting rooted in religion creates a harsh parent-child relationship, he adds. Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, and 12 former Aum members were executed on July 6 and 26, 2018. The cult splintered into groups including Hikari no Wa, which continues to be under government surveillance. Related coverage: Victims of 1995 AUM sarin attack struggling with PTSD, survey shows Japan AUM cult web archive opens ahead of sarin attack's 30th anniv. FOCUS: Tokyo sarin attack survivors still struggling with health 30 yrs on
