Hlss212 mid term

Japanese Sarin Cult directed by Wright, Nicolas, in International Terrorism Since
1945 Episode 17 (British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 2008) 26:05 mins
Copyright Message: Copyright © 2008 BBC Worldwide Ltd.

TRANSCRIPT OF VIDEO FILE :

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT:

March 20th 1995 Tokyo

Robert Powell March the 20th 1995 , Tokyo , early morning. In a nightmare scenario, a deadly

Nazi nerve gases just been released on the city’s subway system. It’s the height of the rush hour

and the trains are packed with commuters. 12 people died from the effects of the gas, more than

50 fall seriously ill and thousands more will suffer from the lingering after effects, many of them

for years to come. But who has carried out the worst attack on Japan since the end of World War

II and why?

[sil.]

NUGUS/MARTIN PRODUCTIONS presents INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM SINCE 1945

narrated by ROBERT POWELL THE JAPANESE SARIN CULT March 20th 1995 Tokyo

Robert Powell March the 20th 1995 , Tokyo . The city’s emergency services are at full stretch

dealing with the aftermath of a terrorist gas attack on a number of subway trains. As the terrified

choking passengers are brought to the surface, many of them collapsed desperately gasping for

breath. Others have rushed to hospitals throughout the city, where medical staff do their best to

deal with the growing list of casualties. They’re almost overwhelmed by the sheer number of

people involved. At the time no one knew what they were dealing with or how to treat the

stricken patients. It would transpire that the authorities had been warned nine months earlier that

a gas attack on the subway system was eminent. However, they were totally unprepared for

something on such a huge scale. Now, as he watches the news reports on television, one man

realizes what has caused such widespread suffering. Dr. Nobuo Yanagisawa , Head of the

Shinshu University Medical School immediately recognizes the symptoms of one of the world’s

most lethal poisons, Sarin gas developed by the Nazis in World War II. He starts faxing the

hospitals with details of how to treat the victims of the attack. But is the Tokyo hospitals carried

scarcely any Sarin antidote, supplies had to be rushed in from the country hospitals, but it was

used as an antidote in cases of insecticide or herbicide poison. By now forensic experts are

crawling over every inch of the carriages, which had been hit looking for clues. And as the

world’s busiest subway system grinds to a temporary halt, the Japanese police launched the

greatest manhunt in their country’s history. They are determined to find the terrorists behind the

outrage and bring them swiftly to justice. Now, the authorities know they’re dealing with a Sarin

gas attack suspicion immediately falls on a shadowy sinister organization known as Aum

Shinrikyo. On June the 27th the previous year, a small group of Aum Shinrikyo supporters

arrived in the city of Matsumoto , about 200 miles northwest of Tokyo . Driving a refrigerator

truck through a quiet residential district, they released a cloud of Sarin into the warm night air.

As the gas floats through open windows and doors, the attackers escaped before anyone realizes

what’s happening. In their wake(ph) they left seven people for dead and another 150 some of

them seriously ill needing hospital treatment. A short time later, Japanese authorities invited a

number of US chemical warfare specialist to Matsumoto , where they quickly identified the gas

used in the attack as Sarin. As the American experts examine the evidence they’re firmly

convinced that the Matsumoto attack was no more than a test draft(ph).

Ah… Sarin is… Sarin is made for only one purpose and that is as a weapon of war. (inaudible )

my analysis and… and the analysis of others seem to suggest that what someone had done was

put together the preliminary elements of the compound, taken it to the site and then added the

last one or two chemicals right there. And made… essentially made the reaction into the poison

gas at the site within… literally with inhaling distance of the… of the houses in which the

victims live.

Robert Powell They then issued a chill warning, not just to the Japanese , but to the US

Government. The military chiefs and the Pentagon and the CIA that the next target would almost

certainly be the Tokyo’s subway system. But obviously, they didn’t know when. Now, as senior

members of Aum realized they are the prime suspects for the Tokyo attack, they called a hastily

arranged press conference. vehemently denying any involvement, they claim that because their

organization is based on the principles of Buddhism, they are totally non-violent. But no one

really believes them, especially when it’s revealed that AUM’s leader Shoko Asahara is nowhere

to be found. He’d last been seen in his Rolls Royce speeding through Tokyo . The police gave

chase, but lost him in the busy traffic. At the time of the Tokyo underground attack, Aum is

believed to have around 10,000 members in Japan and up to 40,000 elsewhere including the US ,

Australia , Germany and Russia . Asahara founded Aum now regarded as Japan’s deadliest

homegrown terrorist organization, in 1987 following a visit to Dharamsala in southern India ,

home to the exiled Dalai Lama , the spiritual leader of Tibet . On his return home to Tokyo ,

Asahara decided to form a cult Aum Shinrikyo, translated a supreme truth. He claimed that he

had a divine mission to spread the teachings of Buddha throughout the world. What Asahara

failed to point out however, was at the same time he intended to over throw the Japanese

government.

[sil.]

Robert Powell Asahara , who’d been almost blind since his birth in March, 1955 , now went on

recruiting drive. He focused on Tokyo’s bustling electronic and music district, where a great

many of the city’s young people were to be found. They soon fell for Asahara’s patter, especially

when he persuaded some of AUM’s early members to form a rock band, it was called Perfect

Enlightenment. Even though, such an inducement was blatantly transparent. More and more of

Tokyo’s gullible young people flock to join AUM and thanks to the donations Asahara praised

out of them, the cult soon had enough money to erect its own headquarters. This consisted of a

(inaudible ) collection of buildings at the foot of Mount Fuji , 60 miles west of Tokyo . It

surrounded by a high fence, which serves not just to keep curious visitors out, but also to keep

Asahara’s disciples in. There they were subjected to a harsh regime sleeping on bare boards

allowed to eat only one meager meal a day and forced to listen to long rambling lectures from

Asahara . Astonishingly they were prepared to pay 2,000 dollars a week for such a spartan(ph)

existence. And they were so devoted to Asahara that some of them were prepared to pay to drink

not only his used bathwater, but also his blood. Anyone who rebelled against the way they were

treated with severely beaten. Rumors began to spread throughout Tokyo that Asahara and his

closest lieutenants were also guilty of kidnapping and sometimes even murder.

[sil.]

Robert Powell With the money now rolling in, Asahara started up a chain of computer shops.

This swell the coffers to the point where he was able to build and equip a laboratory capable of

producing chemical weapons. Here a number of qualified AUM scientists toiled night and day,

experimenting with the deadly assortment of toxins and viruses including Anthrax, Cholera,

Ebola and the most lethal of all Sarin nerve gas. Sarin was patented in Germany in 1938 , a year

before the start of World War II. Intended primarily as an insecticide, it wasn’t long before

people realized it could also be used as a chemical warfare agent. At least 20 times more lethal

than cyanide, a drop of Sarin no bigger than a pinhead is enough to kill a person. In fact, it is so

deadly that because only a small amount is needed to kill a large numbers of people, Sarin would

become known later as the poor man’s Atom bomb.

It is extremely effective in very small amounts. It affects people by either breathing in then

breathing it in or even penetration through the skins. So it’s a very effective chemical warfare

agent.

Robert Powell By late 1944 with the war going badly against them, leading Nazis among the

Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels urged Hitler to launch a Sarin gas attack on the allies.

Luckily, wiser heads prevailed and when it was pointed out to Hitler that the allies had the

capacity to produce far greater quantities of the gas than the Germans and would undoubtedly

retaliate he (inaudible ) plan. None the less Hitler ordered Nazi scientists to continue refining

Sarin, transferring the top secret research program from the army to the SS(ph). Before the end

of the war, Germany sent quantities of Sarin gas to Japan by submarine, but it was never used in

anger. It was as if both sides realized the results were too awful to contemplate. But 43 years

later, on March the 16th 1988 , Saddam Hussein , ruler of Iraq had no such qualms when he

sanctioned the gas attack on the Kurdish city of Halabja in Northern Iraq , 150 miles northeast of

Baghdad , the Iraqi capital. Around 5,000 men, women and children are believed to have been

killed and up to 10,000 injured, when 20 aircraft dropped a deadly cocktail of chemical bombs

on the city. The poisons used including mustard gas, cyanide, and above all Sarin. When reports

of the atrocity known as bloody Friday reached the outside world, they were met with the

mixture of disbelief and horror. It was thought to be the first documented Chemical attacks since

World War I when both sides employed mustard gas. A few years later, Sarin gas would be used

once again, this time by a man with the vendetor(ph) of hate against his own government Shoko

Asahara . But in 1990 , Asahara had wanted to be part of that same government, fielding 25 Aum

candidates in the general election. But no one took them seriously and they were heavily

defeated. Brooding over the humiliation, Asahara became more and more embittered. The

angrier he became the more determined he was to take his revenge not just on the government,

but on the ordinary citizens of Japan , who had spurned him at the ballot box. And he will use

Sarin gas as the ultimate weapon of terror. In June, 1994 , Asahara’s devoted followers dispersed

Sarin gas throughout a quiet suburb in the city of Matsumoto killing seven people and injuring

150. But the U.S. chemical warfare experts, who visited the city a short time later were right(ph).

The attack was merely a dress rehearsal but one planned on a far greater scale. Asahara wants to

launch a gas attack on the Tokyo’s subway system. He intends to kill hundreds of innocent

people in the worst act of domestic terrorism Japan had ever known. He now abides his time

plotting, planning and waiting for the right moment.

March 20th 1995 Tokyo

Robert Powell March the 20th of 1995 , Tokyo , early morning.

[sil.]

Robert Powell The number of Aum members looking no different from thousands of commuters

using the trains that day slip into the network of subway stations and board trains, all converging

on the centre of Tokyo . They are carrying umbrellas and bundles of newspapers, each

concealing a package containing liquid Sarin. Once the trains have stopped at a particular station,

the terrorists intend puncturing the packages which are at their feet with the sharpened umbrella

tip, allowing the deadly poison to seep out across the floor until it engulfs the entire carriage and

everyone on board. The terrorists would then escape during the ensuing panic and confusion. The

Tokyo subway system is by far the busiest in the world, carrying tens of thousands of passengers

at the height of the rush hour. Three lines have been targeted for a simultaneous attack. Chiyoda ,

Marunouchi and Hibiya . One of the terrorists enters a train traveling Southwest on the Chiyoda

line. He waits until it reaches Shin-Ochanomizu station before puncturing the package of Sarin.

The next two get on a train heading west for Ogikubo station on the Marunouchi line. They

released the Sarin as the train arrives at Ochanomizu station and jump off. As the train moves up

again, two passengers are overcome by the deadly nerve gas, and taken off at Nakano-Sakaue

Station. Despite this, the train continues all the way to Ogikubo , where it makes a brief stop

before traveling back in the opposite direction to Shin Koenji station, where it’s finally taken out

of service. At the same time, two more terrorists have also boarded a train on the Marunouchi

line. This time headed for Ikebukuro . They released the Sarin at Youtsuya . The train then

carries onto Ikebukuro , where the passengers are evacuated while the train is searched. But

when nothing is found, they are allowed back on and the train makes for Hongo Sanchome . By

now rail staff have discovered the empty Sarin packages. They’re removed and the floor mopped

before the train moves up again. It is not until the train reaches Kokkaigijido station that it’s

taken out of service, almost an hour and three quarters after the Sarin was released. Two

terrorists are also onboard a heavier(ph) train traveling north towards the (inaudible ). The first

package of Sarin is punctured at Ebisu station. After the next three stops, passengers are

beginning to fall ill. When the train comes to a halt at Kamiyacho station, some of them are

rushed to hospital. But it will not be until the train gets to Kasumigaseki that it’s taken out of

service. As the gas spreads throughout the network, there is complete panic. People on the

affected trains clamber over each other to reach the exits, many of them collapsing on the

platform before making it out of the station. The emergency services as(ph) soon on the scene.

But the scale of what they faces beyond almost anyone’s experience. Once it’s realized that the

attack on the underground was a deliberate and appalling act of terrorism there is an immediate

clamor for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. The authorities are swift to respond.

March 22nd 1995 Mount Fuji

Robert Powell March the 22nd 1995 , Mount Fuji . Just two days after the attack, more than a

thousand heavily armed police, many of them wearing chemical warfare suits stormed the Aum

headquarters. Over the next few days, they round up a large number of Aum members and

unearth a huge stockpile of deadly chemicals including the ingredients to make enough Sarin to

kill more than four million people. The police also discovered that as well as producing poison,

the Aum laboratories have been setup to manufacture industrial quantities of LSD and various

other drugs. And much to their surprise, police come across a Russian built military helicopter.

They also find millions of dollars and gold stashed in the safe. And sinisterly a number of what

were obviously tortured chambers and prison cells. But they’ve failed to find anyone connected

with the attack on the Tokyo subway. And there was no sign of the Aum leader Shoko Asahara .

A short time later, Asahara sent a video to the Japanese Media protesting his innocence. Instead

he tried to pin the blame on the US military saying the attack was a deliberate ploy(ph) to

implicate Aum. With Asahara together with most of Aum’s leading members still at large, the

police redoubled their efforts to find the terrorists. But as they do so, Aum is planning yet

another attack on the Tokyo underground.

May 5th 1995 Tokyo

Robert Powell May the 5th 1995 , Tokyo . The police and fire services are called to Shinjuku ,

one of the city’s busiest stations. There in a public restroom, they’ve come across a package

giving of a foul smell. It contains enough hydrogen cyanide to kill 20,000 people. The device has

quickly deactivated, but when the news gets out Tokyo is once again in a panic. Security

throughout the city is now stepped out to unprecedented levels. The police are determined to

thwart any further attacks. Meanwhile, there is no let up in the continuing search for Asahara ,

the mastermind behind the terror campaign.

May 16th 1995 Mount Fuji

Robert Powell May the 16th 1995 , Mount Fuji . After tipping off the media, the police mount

another raid on the Aum headquarters. This time they strike lucky. Asahara is found collaring in

a building that had already been searched several times. He’s taken back to Tokyo while

preparations are made for what many Japanese considered the trial of the century. But before

Asahara makes it to court, there is a sensational development.

June 21st 1995 Hakodate

Robert Powell June the 21st 1995 Hakodate . The Japanese All Nippon Boeing 747 sits on the

ground at Hakodate airport. It had been hijacked a few hours earlier halfway through a 90 minute

flight from Tokyo to Hakodate . Onboard are 350 passengers, many of them elderly and a crew

of 15. The hijacker, who gave his name as Saburo Kobayashi said he was a member of Aum and

demanded the release of his imprisoned leader Shoko Asahara . He also insists that the plane is

refueled for a return flight to Tokyo . Otherwise, he threatens to blow it up and kill everyone

onboard including himself. But authority is refused to negotiate and after holding off for 15

hours, finally stormed the plane. Taken completely by surprise a dazed and somewhat bloodied

Kobayashi is dragged off by the police. None of the passengers or crew is hurt during the

incident.

April 24th 1996 Tokyo District Court

Robert Powell April the 24th 1996 Tokyo District Court. The trial of Asahara gets underway at

last. He pleads not guilty to multiple charges of murder as well as the Sarin gas attacks on

Matsumoto and Tokyo . More than 5,000 people turn up hoping to secure one of only 38 seats in

the public gallery. But those who made it had already been chosen by lottery. The trial, the

longest in Japanese criminal history will last nearly eight years. Yet during the whole of his time

Asahara hardly spoke leaving his defense in the hands of his lawyers. But they failed to get him

acquitted and finally on February the 27th, 2004 , Asahara is found guilty and sentenced to

death. He responded by smiling and yawning. 11 of Asahara’s leading accomplishers(ph) are also

sentenced to death. The verdicts were greeted with relief by many of Aum’s previous victims.

They felt that Asahara’s sentence was well deserved especially as throughout his long trial not

once had he expressed any regret for his terrible crimes. While the trial proceeded, demolition

work has moved in on the Aum headquarters at the foot of Mount Fuji and raised the complex to

the ground. Asahara immediately appealed against the death sentence. It was turned down by the

Japanese supreme court in September, 2006 . He was scheduled to hang in March, 2007 , the

intense secrecies surrounding executions in Japan means that no one hears anything until literally

just a few hours before the sentence is carried out, including the condemned individual. And

there is no such announcement has yet been made about Asahara , he is almost certainly still

sitting it out on death row. In 1996 , with all its top leaders in custody, Aum is declared bankrupt,

membership then felt to no more than a few hundred with Asahara’s daughter Rika Matsumoto

trying to hold it together. But a few years later, Aum appeared to be on the rise again, buying up

property and opening up new offices around Japan . The organization later changed its name to

Aleph and claimed to have renounce to violence. But the Japanese authorities remain wary of the

cult which they say still adheres is to Asahara’s dangerous teachings no matter how much its

members may deny the fact. The attack on the Tokyo subway system brought home to the

citizens of Japan that no one is immune from the forces of terrorism, no matter where they live or

how safe they might feel.

The Producers gratefully acknowledge the co-operation of BBC Motion Gallery CBS News

Archive Gaumont British News Getty Images ITN News Archive National Archive, Washington

D.C. Paramount News Public Record Office, London Reuters Television Library Universal

Newsreel Visnews Production Facilities ARQIVA Music DE WOLFE MUSIC Music Advisor

ALAN HOWE Dubbing GEMINI AUDIO Computer Graphics WIL MOBBERLEY LUKE

CHARLES Systems Engineer JOHN CAMPBELL Production Assistant SIAN-LINDSEY

LARKIN Associate Producer RICHARD WALKER On-Line Editor TONY APPLETON Editor

ROY GILBERT Research Director GEORGE MARSHALL Line Producer PHIL HOWARD-

JONES Writer and Historical Advisor NICOLAS WRIGHT Narrated by ROBERT POWELL

Producer/Directors JONATHAN MARTIN NICOLAS WRIGHT Executive Producer PHILIP

NUGUS Produced by Nugus/Martin Productions Ltd. for BBC Worldwide Ltd. ©MMVIII

Nugus/Martin Productions Ltd.