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Thread: Japan Executions 2018

  1. #1
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Japan Executions 2018

    There are developing reports that Japan has executed several members of the Aum cult that carried out the 1995 Sarin gas attack in Tokyo.

    Will update if there is official confirmation.

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    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    If they finally executed that twisted dark 'messiah' I'll be quite happy. I normally don't care about foreign executions, but this one is an exception. So is Futoshi Matsunaga. Japan needs to end him next.
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

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    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    Japan executes sarin gas attack cult leader Shoko Asahara and six members - reports

    The former leader of the doomsday cult that carried out a fatal gas attack on the Tokyo subway in March 1995 was executed on Friday, media reports said.

    Shoko Asahara, who masterminded the attack in which 13 people died and more than 6,000 others fell ill, was hanged at a detention centre, reports said, citing justice ministry sources. He was 63.

    Japan’s public broadcaster NHK said six other former members of the cult who had been convicted of involvement in the attack had also been hanged shortly after Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto.

    His execution was the first of 13 former Aum members who have been condemned to death.

    The Aum Supreme Truth cult, which combined Buddhist and Hindu meditation with apocalyptic teachings, once boasted more than 10,000 followers in Japan and an estimated 30,000 in Russia.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...embers-reports
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  4. #4
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara and six other cultists hanged for mass murders: officials

    By Reiji Yoshida
    The Japan Times

    Shoko Asahara, founder of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo and mastermind behind the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system — and a number of other horrific crimes in the 1980s and ’90s — was executed on Friday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said.

    According to government sources, six other condemned Aum members — Tomomasa Nakagawa, 55, Kiyohide Hayakawa, 68, Yoshihiro Inoue, 48, Masami Tsuchiya, 53, and Seiichi Endo, 58, and Tomomitsu Niimi, 54, — were also executed.

    In total, Asahara, 63, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, was found guilty for his role in 13 crimes that led to the deaths of 27 people that later was increased to 29. In the Tokyo subway attack, 13 people were killed and more than 6,000 injured.

    The death penalty for the guru of the now-disbanded cult was first handed down by the Tokyo District Court in February 2004 and finalized by the Supreme Court in September 2006.

    The crimes he was convicted of also include the murders of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto, his wife and their 1-year-old son in November 1989 and another sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in June 1994. That attack killed eight and left about 600 injured.

    Asahara’s execution was delayed while the lengthy court proceedings involving other key Aum followers accused of complicity in the crimes played out, all of which concluded on Jan. 25 of this year.

    In addition to Asahara, 191 Aum members were indicted over a number of criminal acts — including murders, attempted murders, abductions and the production of deadly nerve gases and illegal automatic rifles. Twelve had their death penalty sentences finalized.

    The hanging of Asahara has in some ways closed the curtain on the shocking crimes and dramatic events staged by Aum. But it also leaves several critical questions unanswered, because even during his trial, Asahara never explained the actual motivations for the crimes.

    Over the past 10 years, the guru reportedly turned down all requests from outside the prison for a meeting, even from family members. During the trials and interviews with his lawyers, Asahara often remained silent or uttered words that no one could clearly understand. The difficulty in communicating with him prompted his counsel to claim that he was not mentally competent to stand trial.

    In 2006, the Supreme Court, however, rejected a special appeal and finalized the death sentence. The court ruled Asahara was legally sane and thus could be held responsible for his actions.

    Asahara, born in 1955 in what today is the city of Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture, formed the predecessor of Aum Shinrikyo in 1984.

    By around October 1988, the number of lay followers surged to between 3,000 and 4,000 and that of live-in followers was estimated at between 100 and 200.

    In that period, the cult had head offices in Tokyo and Kamikuishiki, a village in Yamanashi Prefecture. It also had branch offices in Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Sapporo, New York and Russia.

    In the vast compound in Kamikuishiki at the foot of Mount Fuji, Aum Shinrikyo, under the instruction of Asahara, built and operated a chemical plant to mass-produce sarin and another to assemble illegal automatic rifles.

    The doomsday cult successfully recruited a number of highly-educated young people, including doctors and scientists, some of whom took part in the crimes — a fact that particularly shocked the Japanese public.

    Many Aum members were featured on live TV shows, openly defending the group. The media exposure helped solidify the group’s lasting impact on the public’s collective consciousness.

    In particular, the 1995 sarin attack in Tokyo is remembered as a watershed event that deeply damaged the long-held sense of security felt by many in postwar Japan.

    Asahara claimed that Armageddon was inevitable and justified the murders of certain people by insisting they would send their souls to the heavenly world, according to court transcripts.

    During a hearing in June 2001, Tomomasa Nakagawa, a former doctor who played a key role in the cult’s production of sarin gas, begged his guru to explain what he was actually thinking when he instructed followers to commit illegal, violent acts.

    In response, Asahara, with his eyes closed, just mumbled words no one could understand, according to media reports.

    “I didn’t enter the priesthood (of Aum Shinrikyo) to produce sarin or choke someone’s neck,” Nakagawa tearfully said during the hearing.

    “Please explain your ideas to the people who believed in you,” Nakagawa recalled saying in vain.

    Nakagawa himself is on death row for the roles he played in the production of sarin gas and the 1989 murders of the Sakamoto family.

    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.Wz7dtcu0V9B

    More on each of the cult members.

    Tomomasa Nakagawa

    Sentenced to death on October 30 2003.

    Identified as Second in Command of the Cult.

    Crimes

    Nakagawa was also found guilty of being involved in an earlier gassing that killed seven in Matsumoto on June 27, 1994. His lawyers said he had only assisted in this case and was not the main culprit.

    Nakagawa meanwhile pleaded guilty to murdering Tsutsumi Sakamoto, a lawyer who was helping people with complaints against Aum, along with his wife and infant son on Nov. 4, 1989.

    In addition, Nakagawa was found guilty of abducting and detaining 68-year-old Kiyoshi Kariya, head of the secretariat of a notary office in Meguro Ward, Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 1995. Kariya died of heart failure the next day.

    He was convicted of murdering fellow cult member Kotaro Ochida, 29, in Yamanashi Prefecture on Jan. 30, 1994, and company employee Tadahito Hamaguchi, 28, whom Aum suspected of spying.

    Nakagawa was found guilty of using VX nerve gas to kill Hamaguchi in Osaka on Dec. 12, 1994.

    He was found guilty of several attempted murders using cyanide fumes, VX gas, sarin gas and a letter bomb.

    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.Wz7hVcu0V9A

    Kiyohide Hayakawa

    Sentenced to death on July 28, 2000.

    Kiyohide Hayakawa, the 51-year-old former "construction minister" of the Aum Shinri Kyo cult, was responsible for producing the sarin gas that killed 12 people and sickened thousands when it was released on crowded Tokyo subway trains in March 1995.

    He was also found guilty of complicity in two murder cases, including the killing of a lawyer who was offering assistance to people trying to leave the cult.

    "It is unforgivable that he showed no hesitation to kill in the interest of the religious group," Tokyo District Court Judge Kaoru Kanayama was quoted as saying by the Kyodo News agency. "There is no room at all for mercy. We cannot see even a fragment of humanity in him."

    Hayakawa is the third Aum member to be given the death sentence since late June. Satoru Hashimoto, 33, was given the same punishment Thursday. Both men played a part in the brutal murder of anti-cult lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto, his wife and infant son in November 1989.

    Hayakawa was also convicted of strangling of a young cult member in February 1989.

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/japan-c...nced-to-death/

    Yoshihiro Inoue

    Sentenced to death on May 28, 2004.

    Was a Co coordinator of the attack. Directed attackers on where to deploy the Sarin.

    Masami Tsuchiya

    Sentenced to death on January 31, 2004.

    Was the Chemist of the group who helped make the Sarin Gas in the attacks.

    Tsuchiya stood accused on seven counts: the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack that killed 12 people; the June 1994 sarin attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, that killed seven; the three VX gas attacks, in 1994 and 1995, that killed one; production of PCP; and harboring Aum fugitives.

    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.Wz7khcu0V9A

    Seiichi Endo

    Sentenced to death on October 12, 2002.

    Was the Health Minister of the group.

    Helped create the Sarin Gas used in the attacks.

    Tomomitsu Niimi

    Sentenced to death on June 27, 2002

    Was seen as Shoko's right hand man.

    The Tokyo District Court found Niimi, 38, guilty of playing active roles in 11 crimes perpetrated by the cult, including seven cases of murder and two attempted murders between 1989 and 1995. The seven murder cases involve 26 deaths.

    Other than Aum founder Shoko Asahara, Niimi is the only Aum member indicted in all seven murder cases, including the June 1994 sarin attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, the March 1995 Tokyo subway gassing and the 1989 killing of an anti-Aum lawyer, his wife and their infant son.

    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.Wz7lr8u0V9A
    Last edited by Mike; 07-05-2018 at 10:49 PM.

  5. #5
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    I believe this one of the largest mass executions that Japan has carried out since the end of WW2. It also appears that another mass execution must be around the corner because only one of the attackers in the Sarin attack was executed today, the rest were for murders that they committed for the cult.
    Last edited by Mike; 07-05-2018 at 10:23 PM.

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    Administrator Aaron's Avatar
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    Japan sends last six Aum death-row defendants to the gallows

    Japan executed Thursday all six Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult figures who remained on death row following the hanging of founder Shoko Asahara and six other members earlier this month, a government official said.

    The six hanged Thursday — Satoru Hashimoto, Toru Toyoda, Kenichi Hirose, Yasuo Hayashi, Masato Yokoyama and Kazuaki Okazaki — were convicted of involvement in one or more of three crimes — the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, another sarin attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in 1994, and the murders of a lawyer, his wife and their baby son in 1989.

    Asahara, the mastermind of the series of crimes committed by the cult, was executed along with six of his former followers on July 6, nearly 12 years after his death sentence was finalized by the Supreme Court in September 2006.

    The crimes, which courts said were committed to further Asahara’s bid to “control Japan in the name of salvation,” resulted in the deaths of 29 people among a total of over 6,500 victims.

    Relatives of victims of Aum’s crimes had mixed feelings over the executions.

    “Even if they are executed, my son will never come back,” said Yoko Ito, 78, who lost her son, Tomomi, in the Matsumoto sarin attack. “I want the police to monitor spin-off groups so that similar incidents will never happen again.”

    Fusae Kobayashi, 76, who also lost her son, Yutaka, in the sarin attack, said her sorrow continues despite the news.

    “The stale feeling I had inside seemed to have gone (after hearing the news of the executions). But my son won’t come back and the sorrow I have isn’t going to go away.”

    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.W1ktop8pA0M
    Don't ask questions, just consume product and then get excited for next products.

    "They will hurt you. They will hurt your grandma, these people. The root cause of this is there's no discipline in the homes, they don't go to school, you know, they live off the government, no personal accountability, and they just beat people up for no reason, and it's disgusting." - Former Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters

  7. #7
    Senior Member CnCP Legend Mike's Avatar
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    Keizo Okamoto (left) and Hiroya Suemori


    Two Japanese death row inmates executed over 1988 robbery-murders of Cosmo Research president, employee

    Japan Times

    Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita announced the execution of two death row inmates Thursday morning, bringing the total this year to 15.

    Keizo Okamoto, 60, a former yakuza, and Hiroya Suemori, 67, a former employee of an asset management firm, were hanged at the Osaka Detention Center in the city of Osaka.

    The two murdered the president and an employee of asset management firm Cosmo Research in January 1988 after abducting them from an Osaka condominium and robbed them of ¥100 million. They then entombed their bodies in concrete and abandoned them in the mountains of Kyoto.

    The number of executions since the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in 2012 is now at 36 . This year’s total matches the number carried out in 2008 and marked the highest number since 1993, when Japan resumed use of the death penalty.

    Yamashita said he signed the execution order on Tuesday and that it was his first since taking office in October.

    “It was an extremely cruel case,” Yamashita told a hastily arranged news conference Thursday morning. The decision “was a result of a very careful consideration,” he said.

    The executions were the first since July, when Aum Shinrikyo guru Shoko Asahara and 12 former members of the doomsday cult were executed over a two-day period.

    Japan’s system of capital punishment has drawn international criticism. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations has called for it to be abolished by 2020 and replaced with lifetime imprisonment instead.

    Earlier this month, a group of lawmakers was set up to discuss the future of the death penalty system. More than 50 lawmakers from ruling and opposition parties took part.

    https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20.../#.XCRH0PZFyUk

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