Shoko Asahara

Japanese: 麻原彰晃 - あさはらしょうこう

A Japanese religious leader and the founder of Aum Shinrikyo. Born in Kumamoto Prefecture on March 2, 1955, his real name was Matsumoto Chizuo. After working in acupuncture and moxibustion clinics and selling health medicines, he established a yoga dojo and reorganized it into a religious organization. He renamed it Aum Shinrikyo in 1987, and expanded the cult's influence through skillful propaganda and brainwashing, while also engaging in a series of illegal activities, including murder that was later discovered, and the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995. He was arrested and indicted in 1995, and his death sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 2006. His death sentence was carried out in 2018, at the age of 63.
He was born in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, as the fourth son of six boys and three girls to a tatami craftsman. Due to a congenital disease, he had almost no vision in his left eye, so he entered a school for the blind and lived in a dormitory, and went on to the specialized course at high school, where he obtained a license in acupuncture and moxibustion. He tried to take the entrance exam for the University of Tokyo, but failed, so he opened an acupuncture clinic and a Chinese medicine pharmacy in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, and became interested in fortune-telling, Sen-do, and new religions. In 1983, he opened a cram school for ability development in Shibuya, Tokyo, combining Sen-do, yoga, and oriental medicine, and in 1984 he renamed it a yoga dojo called "Aum no Kai," and in 1986 he reorganized it into a religious organization called "Aum Shinsen no Kai." Around this time, he claimed to have received a divine revelation and to have finally attained enlightenment in the Himalayas, and in 1987, he renamed "Aum Shinsen no Kai" to "Aum Shinrikyo." He expanded the influence of the cult by using photos of him jumping around while sitting in meditation, which he called levitation, and his meeting with the Dalai Lama for publicity. In 1989, he murdered a male follower and lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family. By this time, he had almost completely lost the vision in his right eye. In 1990, he ran in the general election for the House of Representatives, and attracted attention with his eccentric performances as a group, but was defeated miserably. He claimed that the election was tricked, and planned a terrorist attack, claiming that the killing and destruction he called Poa was salvation and training. He also made frequent television appearances in 1991 and 1992, increasing his public recognition. After the disastrous defeat in the House of Representatives election, he took a full-fledged illegal route, cultivating anthrax bacteria, manufacturing sarin, and smuggling rifles. In June 1994, he committed the Matsumoto Sarin Gas Assault, and in March 1995, he committed the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack, killing a total of 21 people and injuring several thousand. In May of the same year, he was arrested while hiding in a secret room in the group's facility, "Satian," in Kamikuishiki Village, Yamanashi Prefecture (now Fujikawaguchiko Town). He was indicted on most of the cases related to Aum Shinrikyo, but since his first trial in 1996, he maintained his innocence, saying that "it was his disciples who ran wild, and that he did not give any instructions." He repeatedly made irregular and incomprehensible remarks and fell asleep, but by around 2002, he had stopped responding. After 257 trials, he was sentenced to death by the Tokyo District Court in 2004. At the Tokyo High Court, his defense team presented a psychiatric evaluation report that was negative about his litigation ability, but an evaluation requested by the high court stated that "he had not lost his litigation ability." Due to disputes over these matters, the submission of the appeal brief was delayed, and the appeal was dismissed in 2006. As a result, his defense team filed a special appeal with the Supreme Court, but it was rejected in September of the same year, and the death sentence was finalized. He subsequently requested a retrial twice, but both were rejected. By this time, he was barely able to communicate, behaving strangely and was described as a cripple, but it was suspected that he was faking it, and various opinions were circulated as to whether this was true or not. Article 479 of the Penal Code states that "When a person sentenced to death is in a state of insanity, the execution may be suspended by order of the Minister of Justice," but in July 2018, Minister of Justice Kamikawa signed the execution order, and of the 13 inmates on death row in the Aum Shinrikyo case, seven, including Asahara, were executed on July 6th, and the remaining six on the 26th. After this series of incidents, the cult split into several groups, but there are still quite a few followers who are devoted to Asahara, and his wife and children are fighting over who should take his remains.

(Writer Toshihide Kanaya/2018)

Source : "Chiezo" published by Asahi Shimbun Publications Co., Ltd. About Chiezo

Japanese:

日本の宗教家でオウム真理教の教祖。1955年3月2日熊本県生まれ、本名は松本智津夫。鍼灸(しんきゅう)院経営や健康薬販売などを経て、ヨガ道場を主宰し宗教団体に改組した。これを87年にオウム真理教と改称し、巧みな宣伝や洗脳により教団の勢力を拡大すると共に、後に発覚する殺人など非合法活動を繰り返し、95年には地下鉄サリン事件を起こした。95年に逮捕、起訴され2006年に死刑判決が最高裁で確定、18年に死刑が執行され、63歳で刑死した。
畳職人を父に6男3女の4男として熊本県八代市に生まれた。先天性の病気により左目はほとんど視力がなく、盲学校に入学し寄宿舎で生活、高等部専攻科まで進み鍼灸免許を取得。東京大学受験を試みるが果たせず千葉県船橋市に鍼灸院や漢方薬局を開き、占いや仙道、新興宗教などに傾倒。1983年に東京都渋谷区に仙道やヨガ、東洋医学などを混在させた能力開発の学習塾を開き、翌84年にはこれをヨガ道場「オウムの会」と変え、86年には宗教団体「オウム神仙の会」に改組した。この前後に神の啓示を受けたとか、ヒマラヤで最終解脱したなどと称して、87年には「オウム神仙の会」を「オウム真理教」に改称した。空中浮遊と称する座禅を組んで飛び跳ねた瞬間の写真や、ダライ・ラマとの接見などを宣伝に利用して教団の勢力を拡大。89年には、男性信者殺害事件や坂本堤弁護士一家殺害事件を起こしていた。このころには右目の視力もほとんど失っていたという。90年に衆議院議員総選挙に出馬、教団をあげての奇矯なパフォーマンスで選挙活動を行い衆目を集めるが惨敗。選挙にトリックがあったなどと主張し、ポアと称する殺害や破壊が救済や修行であるとしてテロを計画した。また、91、92年には、頻繁にテレビ出演するなどして知名度を高めていった。衆院選惨敗後は、本格的に非合法路線に舵(かじ)を取り、炭疽(たんそ)菌の培養やサリン製造、小銃密造を進めた。94年6月には松本サリン事件、95年3月には地下鉄サリン事件を起こし、合わせて21人を殺害、重軽傷者は数千人に及ぶ。同年5月に山梨県上九一色村(現・富士河口湖町)の教団施設「サティアン」の隠し部屋に潜伏中のところを逮捕された。オウム真理教を巡る大多数の事件で起訴されたが、96年の初公判以来「弟子たちの暴走であって、自身は指示していない」などとして無罪を主張。不規則発言や意味不明な発言や居眠りを繰り返していたが、2002年ごろまでには受け答えがなくなった。257回に及ぶ公判を経て04年に東京地裁で死刑判決が言い渡された。東京高等裁判所では、弁護団から訴訟能力に否定的な精神鑑定書が示されたが、高裁の依頼による鑑定では「訴訟能力は失っていない」とされた。これらを巡る紛糾などから控訴趣意書の提出が遅延し06年に控訴棄却となった。このため、弁護団は最高裁判所に特別抗告を行ったが、同年9月に棄却され、死刑判決が確定した。その後再審請求を2回行ったが、いずれも棄却された。このころには意思疎通がほとんどできず、奇行を見せるなど廃人同様と形容される状態にあったが、詐病ではないかとも疑われ、その真偽については様々な意見が取りざたされた。刑法479条では「死刑の言渡を受けた者が心神喪失の状態に在るときは、法務大臣の命令によって執行を停止する」とあるが、18年7月には上川法務大臣が死刑執行命令書に署名し、オウム真理教事件での確定死刑囚13人のうち、麻原を含む7名は7月6日に、残る6人は26日に刑が執行された。一連の事件後教団はいくつかに分裂したが、今なお麻原に帰依する信者も少なからず存在し、遺骨の引き取りを巡って妻や子どもの間で争われている。

(金谷俊秀　ライター／2018年)

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