Search Results for: shinrikyo

Takebe Telling Bad Jokes on the Campaign Trail in Chiba by-election

I don’t know about you guys, but this neck-and-neck by-election in Chiba prefecture has me riveted! (Click link for background though it’s pretty obviously biased against the DPJ). Somehow new DPJ President Ichiro Ozawa has made the press almost completely forget about that sloppy screw-up Tony Blair wanna-be predecessor of his Maehara. ZAKZAK, as usual, … Continue reading Takebe Telling Bad Jokes on the Campaign Trail in Chiba by-election

Niimi files final appeal

I mentioned the other day that Niimi Tomomitsu, one of the leaders of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, had recieved a death sentence. Naturally, he has filed an appeal. The lawyers claim hanging is too harsh a punishment for Niimi, 42, reckoning that as Aum founder Shoko Asahara’s most loyal disciple, he had no option but … Continue reading Niimi files final appeal

Death sentence of Aum sarin subway terrorist upheld

Saru forwarded me the AP story, but I don’t have a link so I’ll just post it below. Japan: Death for Man in Subway Gassing By CHISAKI WATANABE The Associated Press TOKYO — Tokyo’s High Court upheld the death penalty for a doomsday cult member convicted in the 1995 Tokyo subway nerve gas attack that … Continue reading Death sentence of Aum sarin subway terrorist upheld

Best hits of Aum – Part I

Earlier this year I spent an entire month working fulltime translating documents about Aum Shinrikyo into English to be used as research materials for a report on international religious terrorism being created by a Washington DC based organization that shall remain nameless. While I did a couple of articles and some excerpts from various books, … Continue reading Best hits of Aum – Part I

Another Aum member sentenced

The Japan Times has the story: The Tokyo District Court sentenced a past key Aum Shinrikyo figure to 30 months in prison Friday and fined him 2 million yen for unlicensed sales of skin ointment in 2003 and 2004. Takashi Inoue, 37, who headed the cult’s Tokyo training center, had pleaded not guilty to charges … Continue reading Another Aum member sentenced

Some recommended background reading on Aum

If you’re interested in reading some more about Aum Shinrikyo, the easiest place to turn would be this fairly long article on Court TV’s Crime Library web site. Additionally, I can’t strongly enough recommend Haruki Murakami’s book, Underground The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche. It’s actually a compilation of what was published as … Continue reading Some recommended background reading on Aum

Asahara not fit for trial: psychiatrist

Lawyers for Shoko Asahara, founder of the Aum Shinrikyo religious cult, released portions of a psychiatrist’s report Monday stating that Asahara is unable to stand trial because of his confused state of mind.The report of Masaaki Noda, a professor at Kwansei Gakuin University, will be submitted to the Tokyo High Court, the lawyers said. Asahara, … Continue reading Asahara not fit for trial: psychiatrist

The Tokyo premiere of Steven Spielberg’s film War of the Worlds has been cancelled due to security fears.

The BBC reports: Film distributor UIP decided to shelve the gala screening on 13 June amid concerns about protecting the picture’s stars, including Tom Cruise. There were also worries about pirate copies of the film being made from illegal recordings at the event. Some 7,000 Japanese fans who won seats at the premiere are likely … Continue reading The Tokyo premiere of Steven Spielberg’s film War of the Worlds has been cancelled due to security fears.