Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 2, 2008, Page 4
undergone. I obtained these sources in a variety of ways, which included database and
Internet searches and an ongoing compilation that I began several years ago of print-media
articles that use the brainwashing term. My choice to begin this analysis with materials in
the year 2000 was an attempt to get beyond the raft of speculative articles about
millenarianism and ‗cults‘ prior to the beginning of the new century, and selection of late
June 2007 as a cut-off date simply reflected that fact that I had to prepare my initial
findings for a conference held around that period. I hope that, in the future, someone
repeats a similar analysis for material that appears after mid-2007, especially because the
debate over ‗brainwashing‘ is not likely to subside.
Through monitoring media stories, plus continuing to read about various alternative
religions, I have amassed a collection of references that various academics, journalists,
lawyers, other professionals, and former group members have made to brainwashing. For
purposes of presentation I have divided these references into categories—ones that
admittedly have some overlapping characteristics. These categories include New
Religions/Cults Teen Behavior Modification Programs Terrorist Groups Dysfunctional
Corporate Culture Interpersonal Violence and Alleged Chinese Governmental Human
Rights Violations Against Falun Gong.
‘New Religions/Cults’
Aum Shinrikyo
Japanese defense lawyers representing Aum Shinrikyo members on trial for their role in the
1995 Tokyo subway gas attacks used a brainwashing defense in an effort to save their
clients‘ lives. According to The Japan Times:
Mind control at the hands of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara was a key
defense argument for many of the 11 cultists sentenced to death and the six
others handed life prison terms for carrying out Aum‘s heinous crimes—an
argument that had little if any effect.
As the convicted cultists pursue their appeals, including before the Supreme Court, their
lawyers continue to seek leniency, claiming their clients were brainwashed by the guru and
his teachings—a factor the courts have partially recognized.
In the case of Kiyohide Hayakawa, who was convicted of playing a role in the 1989 murders
of Yokohama lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and errant cultist Shuji Taguchi, the Tokyo District
Court determined the accused was in ―a state of absolute obedience to the guru, in which it
was unthinkable to refuse his orders.‖
But Hayakawa was nonetheless sentenced to hang. The judge noted, ―It is very common in
organized crimes that a member of a lower rank blindly follows the orders of his senior, and
that does not lessen his criminal responsibility‖ (Wijers-Hasegawa, 2004:1).
Subsequent court rulings boosted to thirteen the number of former Aum members
sentenced to death, including Yoshihiro Inoue, who initially had received a life sentence for
his involvement in the attack. A lower court had spared Inoue the death penalty, apparently
having accepted his attorneys‘ argument that he had been brainwashed and had not been
directly involved with releasing the gas. This court even allowed Inoue to receive counseling
about his involvement in the group, during which time he had ―reflected deeply on his
deeds‖ (Wijers-Hasegawa, 2004:2). Presumably his repentance, combined with his indirect
involvement, were sufficient grounds for the lower court to stop short of a death sentence.
In late May 2004, however, the Tokyo High Court overturned the lower court decision by
imposing the death penalty on him (The New York Times, 2004).
A journalist named Yoshifu Arita, who was following the Hayakawa trial, sharply criticized
the court‘s failure to realize the importance of the ‗brainwashing‘ techniques. He stated:
undergone. I obtained these sources in a variety of ways, which included database and
Internet searches and an ongoing compilation that I began several years ago of print-media
articles that use the brainwashing term. My choice to begin this analysis with materials in
the year 2000 was an attempt to get beyond the raft of speculative articles about
millenarianism and ‗cults‘ prior to the beginning of the new century, and selection of late
June 2007 as a cut-off date simply reflected that fact that I had to prepare my initial
findings for a conference held around that period. I hope that, in the future, someone
repeats a similar analysis for material that appears after mid-2007, especially because the
debate over ‗brainwashing‘ is not likely to subside.
Through monitoring media stories, plus continuing to read about various alternative
religions, I have amassed a collection of references that various academics, journalists,
lawyers, other professionals, and former group members have made to brainwashing. For
purposes of presentation I have divided these references into categories—ones that
admittedly have some overlapping characteristics. These categories include New
Religions/Cults Teen Behavior Modification Programs Terrorist Groups Dysfunctional
Corporate Culture Interpersonal Violence and Alleged Chinese Governmental Human
Rights Violations Against Falun Gong.
‘New Religions/Cults’
Aum Shinrikyo
Japanese defense lawyers representing Aum Shinrikyo members on trial for their role in the
1995 Tokyo subway gas attacks used a brainwashing defense in an effort to save their
clients‘ lives. According to The Japan Times:
Mind control at the hands of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara was a key
defense argument for many of the 11 cultists sentenced to death and the six
others handed life prison terms for carrying out Aum‘s heinous crimes—an
argument that had little if any effect.
As the convicted cultists pursue their appeals, including before the Supreme Court, their
lawyers continue to seek leniency, claiming their clients were brainwashed by the guru and
his teachings—a factor the courts have partially recognized.
In the case of Kiyohide Hayakawa, who was convicted of playing a role in the 1989 murders
of Yokohama lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and errant cultist Shuji Taguchi, the Tokyo District
Court determined the accused was in ―a state of absolute obedience to the guru, in which it
was unthinkable to refuse his orders.‖
But Hayakawa was nonetheless sentenced to hang. The judge noted, ―It is very common in
organized crimes that a member of a lower rank blindly follows the orders of his senior, and
that does not lessen his criminal responsibility‖ (Wijers-Hasegawa, 2004:1).
Subsequent court rulings boosted to thirteen the number of former Aum members
sentenced to death, including Yoshihiro Inoue, who initially had received a life sentence for
his involvement in the attack. A lower court had spared Inoue the death penalty, apparently
having accepted his attorneys‘ argument that he had been brainwashed and had not been
directly involved with releasing the gas. This court even allowed Inoue to receive counseling
about his involvement in the group, during which time he had ―reflected deeply on his
deeds‖ (Wijers-Hasegawa, 2004:2). Presumably his repentance, combined with his indirect
involvement, were sufficient grounds for the lower court to stop short of a death sentence.
In late May 2004, however, the Tokyo High Court overturned the lower court decision by
imposing the death penalty on him (The New York Times, 2004).
A journalist named Yoshifu Arita, who was following the Hayakawa trial, sharply criticized
the court‘s failure to realize the importance of the ‗brainwashing‘ techniques. He stated:
