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Introduction
On March 20, 1995, Japan, a nation recognized for its remarkably low crime rate, was struck by a devastating terrorist attack on its busy Tokyo subway system. The attack left 12 dead and as many as 5,500 injured and opened the world's eyes to the dangerous possibilities of terrorist attacks involving chemical weapons. The attack was eventually linked to a religious cult known as Aum Shinrikyo, which had amassed a very large following and millions of dollars worth of assets within Japan and other nations. Investigations following the subway attack revealed the deadly mission that drove this group and uncovered several previously unknown terrorist attacks it had attempted, as well as a web of criminal activity ranging from kidnapping and murder to the manufacture of weapons, illicit drugs, and deadly chemical agents.
About Aum
Aum Shinrikyo was founded by Chizuo Matsumoto, a partially blind Japanese man who gained a small group of followers while teaching yoga classes. Matsumoto's true religious fervor began in 1986, when he claimed to have received divine enlightenment while traveling in the Himalayan Mountains of India. It was at this time that Matsumoto changed his name to "The Holy" Asahara Shoko and launched a modest group of followers that he named Aum Shinrikyo (Aum meaning the powers of destruction and creation in the universe, and Shinrikyo meaning the teaching of the supreme truth).
Asahara used Aum Shinrikyo to spread his self-created religious teachings, which were based on an eclectic mix of Buddhist, Hindu, Taoist, and Christian belief systems. The group gained followers slowly at first and then much more rapidly after Aum gained official recognition as a religious organization by the Japanese government under the nations Religious Corporations Law. Japanese officials were initially hesitant to grant Aum this status, largely due to a number of protests and complaints that had been filed by many of the families of existing Aum members over the group's requirement that followers sever all ties and communication with the outside world, including with their relatives and acquaintances. Aum responded to the Japanese government's reluctance with a fervent series of lawsuits and public demonstrations, a practice that the group would successfully employ many times in future years. Aum's campaign was victorious, and in 1989 it...