The Morning Tokyo Became Hell
March 20, 1995. Rush hour in Tokyo. Millions of commuters packed the world's busiest subway system. At 8:00 a.m., five members of Aum Shinrikyo boarded separate trains on three lines, each carrying plastic bags filled with liquid sarin – a deadly nerve agent developed by Nazi scientists.
They punctured the bags with sharpened umbrella tips and fled. Within minutes, the invisible, odorless gas spread through crowded cars. Passengers began choking, convulsing, vomiting. Eyes burned. Vision blurred to darkness. Bodies collapsed in heaps.
13 people died. Over 5,500 sought medical help – many with permanent damage. It was the worst terrorist attack in Japan's history.
The Man Who Believed He Was Christ
Shoko Asahara (born Chizuo Matsumoto in 1955) founded Aum Shinrikyo in 1984. Blind in one eye from childhood glaucoma, he grew up feeling destined for greatness. He studied acupuncture, opened a herbal shop, and dabbled in yoga and Eastern mysticism.
"I am the Christ of the present age."
– Shoko Asahara
By the late 1980s, Asahara claimed enlightenment in the Himalayas. He blended Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Nostradamus prophecies into a doomsday theology. He was the final enlightened master. Armageddon was coming. Only Aum members would survive to rule the new world.
Aum grew rapidly, attracting educated young Japanese disillusioned with materialism. By 1995, they had reached a staggering 10,000 members in Japan alone, and thousands more overseas.
The Path to Terror
Aum Shinrikyo's descent into terrorism was gradual but relentless. By the early 1990s, Asahara's prophecies grew darker. He predicted World War III beginning with American attacks on Japan. Only Aum members, "lotus children" with purified DNA, would survive to rule the post-apocalyptic world. Failed political ambitions accelerated the shift. In 1990, Asahara and 24 followers ran for parliament under the "Truth Party." They won zero seats, humiliating the guru. Asahara blamed "worldly corruption" and began preparing for war.
"The world is evil. We must cleanse it."
– Shoko Asahara, post-election speech
Aum established secret laboratories across Japan and in Russia. They recruited scientists and engineers, many of them with university degrees, promising enlightenment through work on "advanced technology." Experiments began with biological agents: botulinum toxin, anthrax. Releases in Tokyo (1993) failed due to weak strains. Then came chemistry. Aum built a sophisticated sarin production facility at Satyan 7 compound in Kamikuishiki.
Former member testimony revealed the mindset:
"We were told producing sarin was holy work, creating the means to hasten enlightenment."
– Anonymous ex-member
Earlier attacks tested capabilities:
June 27, 1994: Matsumoto sarin release. Targeted judges hearing land dispute against Aum. 8 dead, 500 injured.
Failed attempts: anthrax sprays from buildings, botulinum releases.
By early 1995, police were closing in after disappearances linked to Aum. Asahara ordered the subway attack to distract authorities and spark the prophesied war.
"Poa! Higher killing for lower living."
– Asahara's justification (Tibetan term twisted to mean murder as mercy)
The Attack: Rush Hour Nightmare
March 20, 1995 – 7:30 a.m. Tokyo's subways carried over 6 million daily commuters. Five Aum teams, each two members (one to puncture bags, one to act as lookout), boarded trains on three lines converging at Kasumigaseki government district.
The attackers carried plastic bags wrapped in newspaper containing about 900ml of sarin each, it was diluted but still lethal. At precisely timed moments around 8:00 a.m., they punctured the bags with sharpened umbrella tips and left them leaking on car floors. Within minutes, the deadly invisible gas spread.
"I saw people collapsing around me. Their eyes were white, foaming at the mouth. I thought it was the end of the world."
– Commuter testimony
Passengers experienced:
Burning eyes and throats
Pinpoint pupils
Difficulty breathing
Convulsions and vomiting
Loss of consciousness
Survivor accounts paint chaos:
"The air smelled like burning rubber. My vision went dark. I crawled out of the train on my hands and knees."
– Another survivor
Stations quickly became scenes of horror. Bodies were strewn across the train platforms, rescue workers themselves began collapsing from secondary exposure. Team after team of brave First Responders without protection carried victims outside, many of them suffering dreadful symptoms themselves.
Sadly 13 innocent people died, most from respiratory failure. Over 5,500 people sought treatment for the effects of the gas. Hundreds of them suffered permanent damage, including vision problems, neurological issues and PTSD. The attack targeted lines serving government ministries intending to paralyze Japan's leadership.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1984 | Asahara founds Aum |
| 1990 | Aum candidates lose elections |
| June 1994 | Matsumoto sarin attack |
| March 20 1995 | Tokyo subway attack |
| May 1995 | Asahara arrested |
| 2004 | Asahara sentenced to death |
| 2018 | Asahara and 12 others executed |
Sources
- Haruki Murakami – Underground
- Robert Jay Lifton – Destroying the World to Save It
- Japanese police reports
- Trial records
Final Verdict
THE CULT THAT BROUGHT DOOMSDAY TO RUSH HOUR. Shoko Asahara promised salvation through apocalypse. On March 20 1995, his followers turned Tokyo subways into his idol Pol Pot's (another piece of shit) killing fields. Aum Shinrikyo showed how charisma, isolation, and paranoia can weaponize even very smart people into the belief that mass murder is acceptable.