Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 28
The Homicide of Attorney Sakamoto and his Wife and Child
Attorney Sakamoto represents all those who have become victims of Aum. Aum murdered
Sakamoto and his family because Sakamoto took rigorous measures to oppose the
organization. At the site of his homicide case (which at the time was labeled a kidnapping
case), a ―Prusha‖ (an Aum badge) was left behind. Even so, not until a very long period
after the incident actually occurred did the police finally acknowledge that this case was
criminal and that they neglected to conduct an investigation about Aum‘s involvement.
Because of this failure to act, perpetrators easily escaped or left the country, and dead
bodies and relevant evidence were easily concealed. As a result, this case was not disclosed
for nearly six years.
The Response of the Police to Various Crimes
Even after the murder of Attorney Sakamoto and his family, Aum compelled a large number
of its followers to leave their homes and live and work in Aum communes. Aum also made
high-handed efforts to collect money.
Throughout Japan Aum caused trouble and many problems. Complaints and reports of
damage regarding Aum‘s conduct—including Aum‘s forceful demands, its illegal transfer of
residences throughout Japan, its confinement of children, and its installation of wire-tapping
devices—were delivered to the police time and time again. However, the police conducted
almost no investigations regarding these complaints and reports, thereby avoiding action
against the group, as Aum was a religion.
The Abduction of a Manager of a Japanese Traditional Style Inn. In March 1994, Aum
believers drugged and abducted the manager of a Japanese inn in Kobayashi City in
Miyazaki Prefecture (Kyushyu). One of the abductors was his natural daughter. A large
amount of evidence pertaining to this case was amassed demonstrating that this was a case
of abduction vis-à-vis Aum to obtain the estate (financial assets) of the said manager.
However, in response to the rescue pleas submitted by the family members of the manager,
the police as well as the prosecutors failed to take action since the manager was ―with his
daughter who was an Aum believer.‖ A compulsory investigation of this case was conducted
only after the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
The Matsumoto Sarin Incident. In April 1993, Asahara repeatedly made statements in
his sermons about the use of Sarin. At the same time, Asahara established front companies
to purchase the raw materials to make Sarin and proceeded to manufacture Sarin within the
Aum facilities in various locales throughout Japan. Aum persuaded its followers to believe
that ―the national power of Japan and the US military forces planned to launch a gas
attack,‖ and filled the followers with fear of Armageddon. Followers were required to wear
gas masks, and air-cleaning devices were installed at the facilities to intensify fears.
In April 1994, our Group of Lawyers in Opposition to the Victimization and Damages
perpetrated by the Aum Shinrikyo reported Asahara‘s sermons and statements regarding
the use of Sarin to the Kanagawa Prefectural Police. The police responded without due
consideration of our report. The police also failed to conduct any surveillance of Aum prior
to or following our report. As a result, on 27 June 1994, the Aum terrorist Matsumoto Sarin
Incident occurred against a judge, and the tragedy of this incident, which resulted in seven
deaths and hundreds of casualties, could not be prevented. Following the Matsumoto Sarin
Incident, in July 1994, the people in the surrounding area of an Aum facility (#7 Satayan)
located in Kamikuishiki-mura (village) in Yamanashi Prefecture, complained of a strange
odor similar to that of Sarin. However, the Nagano Prefectural Police, and the police as a
whole, had no information regarding Aum, and thus could not conclude that this incident
was related to the Matsumoto Sarin Incident at the time.

Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 29
Following the Matsumoto Sarin Incident. Pursuant to the Matsumoto Sarin Incident, the
heinous nature and acts of Aum Shinrikyo increased and deepened at an unprecedented
rate. The ―Lawyers Group to Formulate Counter Measures to Injuries and Damages caused
by Aum Shinrikyo‖ reported to the Kanagawa Prefectural Police in September 1994 that
Aum had begun to use LSD type substances as part of its initiation process to the
organization. The same Lawyer‘s Group also reported in October 1994 a lynching incident
that occurred at an Aum facility. Further, on 20 September 1994, Journalist Shoko Egawa
suffered a poison gas attack by Aum, and on 4 January 1995, Chairman Nagaoka of the
―Victims of Aum Shinrikyo Group‖ was attacked with VX gas and nearly died.
In November 1994, a sample of the soil from the vicinity of Aum‘s #7 Satayan facility in
Kamikuishiki-mura (Yamanashi Prefecture) revealed the composition of Methylphospone
Acid Monoisopropyll. By the end of 1994, it was discovered that an Aum-owned company
had purchased large quantities of PAM, a Sarin detoxifying agent.
Although the police probably planned to initiate a compulsory investigation at a much earlier
stage, such an investigation was delayed mainly due to the poor compilation and exchange
of information and communications among Prefectural police agencies. The investigation
was also prolonged because of other serious issues, such as dealing with the Kobe
Earthquake in January 1995 and the Japanese General Elections. Finally, after the Sarin gas
attack on the Tokyo Metropolitan Subway system, which aimed at attacking the Japanese
National Police Agency, a compulsory investigation was initiated.
Lessons
The Japanese police deserve blame for not assuming responsibility in taking measures
against Aum Shinrikyo. If the police had made Aum a serious object of its investigations and
had placed Aum under surveillance, the police could have responded appropriately and
correctly to the Matsumoto Sarin Incident. At the very least, if the police had responded in
good faith to the abduction of the manager of a Japanese Inn in Miyazaki Prefecture, in
which a sufficient amount of evidence had been gathered as a result of a compulsory
investigation, the Tokyo Subway Sarin Gas attack incident most likely could have been
avoided.
In December 1999, new laws were enacted in Japan, which provide for restrictions and
surveillance of organizations and members of those organizations that perpetrate
indiscriminate acts of homicide against the population. These laws, which target mainly
Aum, have been called the ―Aum Counter-Policy Laws.‖ However, they have drawn strong
criticism from opponents, who believe that the laws violate freedom of religion. We lawyers,
who have been fighting Aum over a long period of time, consider these laws to be
problematic and ineffective in helping religious group members leave their respective
organizations and in providing them with the means for their social rehabilitation.
The lesson to be learned by Japanese politicians and government personnel from the Aum
incidents is that they need not enact new legislation, but should instead stop using the fact
that an organization is religious to avoid taking appropriate counter action, to make full use
of existing laws, and to respond resolutely to each and every unlawful act perpetrated by
cult groups.
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Hiroshi Hirata is an attorney with the Heiwa-No-Mori Law Office in Fukuoka, Japan. He is
a member of the Group of Lawyers in Opposition to the Victimization and Damages of the
AUM Shinri-kyo (AUM Supreme Truth cult), an organization with approximately 300 member
lawyers. He is also a member (former chair) of the Subcommittee on Consumers and
Religious Organizations under the Committee on Consumer Problems of the Japan