Japan marks sarin attacks anniversary

TOKYO: Japan yesterday marked the 23rd anniversary of a deadly sarin attack on the Tokyo metro, as speculation grows that members of the cult behind it could soon be executed.

At a solemn ceremony at the Kasumigaseki subway station, one of the targets of the 1995 attacks that is surrounded by key government buildings, Tokyo subway staff gathered to observe a moment of silence and offer flowers.

Thirteen people were killed and thousands more injured when members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult dumped bags of sarin on packed rush hour trains, piercing the pouches with sharpened umbrella tips before fleeing.

The nerve agent caused horrendous deaths and injuries and prompted mass panic, turning Japan’s busy capital into something resembling a war zone.

Passengers streamed out of stations vomiting, coughing and struggling to breathe, with emergency services administering lifesaving treatment by the road.

Ambulances screamed through the streets, and helicopters landed on major roads to assist the evacuation of those affected.

That day, Tokyo Metro worker Kazumasa Takahashi picked up a punctured packet of the nerve gas from the floor of a train at the Kasumigaseki subway station. He and another colleague died.

“I came here today, with the same feeling I have every year,” his widow, Shizue, said at the station after paying tribute to him.

“The health of some victims is deteriorating and some families are also going through a tremendously difficult time,” she said, adding that the passage of time had not healed the pain suffered by victims’ families.

After years of legal proceedings, the prosecution of 13 Aum Shinrikyo members on death row for the attacks and other crimes concluded in January, clearing the way for their execution.