With the execution of the Aum Shinrikyo leader and six of his followers, Japan looks to leave behind an era of tragedy. On July 6, 2018, Japanese authorities executed seven members of the religious movement Aum Shinrikyo (Aum true religion, or supreme truth), which carried out the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack and a series of other atrocities. None of the executed men were directly... Continue Reading
The fine line between consumerism and religious credibility has been eroding at pilgrimage sites around the world. Preparations for this year’s Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca undertaken by devout Muslims at least once in their life, have been marred by the collapse of a crane at the Grand Mosque, which killed more than 100 people. The tragedy came just over a week before the pilgrimage was... Continue Reading
How did Aum Shinrikyo, which began as a peaceful Buddhist sect, devolve into violence? Twenty years after Japan was shaken by Aum Shinrikyo’s nerve gas attack on March 20, 1995, which killed 13 people and injured thousands, the last of the court proceedings are finally coming to an end. In April 2015, Takahashi Katsuya was sentenced to life imprisonment. Takahashi was one of those who helped... Continue Reading
