Matsumoto incident

The Matsumoto incident was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated by members of Aum Shinrikyo in Matsumoto, Japan, in Nagano prefecture, on the evening of June 27 and the morning of June 28, 1994.

Eight people were killed^{[1] [2]} and over 200 were harmed by sarin gas that was released from several sites in the Kaichi Heights area. The first calls to emergency officials occurred around 11:00 p.m.; by 4:15 a.m. the following morning, six people had died from the poison. On July 3, officials announced that the toxic agent had been identified as sarin by GC/MS. The dead included Yutaka Kobayashi, a 23-year old salaried worker, and Yasumoto, a 29-year old medical school student.^[3]

Aum was not implicated, even after an anonymous tip implicating the sect was given to police after the gassing. One section read, "Matsumoto was definitely an experiment of sorts. The result of this experiment in an open space: seven dead, over 200 injured. If sarin is released in an enclosed space say, a crowded subway it is easy to imagine a massive catastrophe."^[4]

After the incident, police focused their investigation on Yoshiyuki Kōno, whose wife was a victim put in a coma by the gas. It was discovered that Kōno had stored a large amount of pesticide in his residence. Despite the fact that sarin cannot be manufactured from pesticides, Kōno was dubbed by the media "the Poison Gas Man" and received hate mail, death threats, and intense legal pressure.

After the attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, the blame was shifted to the cult Aum Shinrikyo. The police chief, on behalf of the police department and media, publicly apologized to Kōno. Kōno's wife died without waking from her coma in 2008.

The Matsumoto incident preceded the better-known attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995. Several Aum Shinrikyo members were found guilty of masterminding both incidents. Combined, the attacks resulted in 21 deaths and thousands of hospitalizations or outpatient treatment. The main motive for the Matsumoto incident was trying to kill the judges handling fraud charges against Aum brought by land owners in Matsumoto, in order to prevent the court from releasing the scheduled verdict. Aum had also used Matsumoto as a test for their future plans to release the gas in Tokyo.^[5]

References

1. ^ "Main Matsumoto sarin victim dies 14 years after attack" The Yomiuri Shimbun (August 6, 2008).
2. ^ "Survivor of Aum's '94 sarin attack dies while in coma" The Asahi Shimbun (August 6, 2008).
3. ^ Kyodo News, "Matsumoto gassings remembered", Japan Times, June 28, 2009, p. 2.
4. ^ Guinea Pigs FALSE PROPHET: THE AUM CULT OF TERROR (chapter 18), Patrick Bellamy
5. ^ Danzig, Richard, Marc Sageman, Terrance Leighton, Lloyd Hough, Hidemi Yuki, Rui Kotani and Zachary M. Hosford, "Aum Shinrikyo: Insights Into How Terrorists Develop Biological and Chemical Weapons", Center for a New American Security, July 2011.

This article about a suspected action, victim, or hostage of a paramilitary organization is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Aum Shinrikyo Terrorist incidents in 1994 Chemical weapons attacks 1994 in Japan Terrorism in Japan Japanese history stubs Paramilitary action stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат? Jamestown Business College Atlantica Look at other dictionaries: Matsumoto, Nagano — Matsumoto 松本   Special city   松本市 · Matsumoto …   Wikipedia Matsumoto — Family name Meaning base of the pine tree Language(s) of origin Japanese Matsumoto (松本, base of the pine tree ) is the 16th most common Japanese surname and the name of a city (Matsumoto shi) in Nagano Prefecture …   Wikipedia Seichō Matsumoto — Entrance to Seichō Matsumoto memorial museum Born Kiyoharu Matsumoto December 21, 1909 Hiroshima, Japan Died 4 August 1992(1992 …   Wikipedia Jun Matsumoto — Infobox Musical artist Name = Jun Matsumoto 松本潤 Img capt = Jun Matsumoto in Gokusenpuic|1=|log=2008 August 27 Img size = Landscape = Background = Solo Singer Birth name = Jun Matsumoto Alias = MatsuJun, Jun kun Born = birth date and age|1983|8|30 …   Wikipedia japan — japanner, n. /jeuh pan /, n., adj., v., japanned, japanning. n. 1. any of various hard, durable, black varnishes, originally from Japan, for coating wood, metal, or other surfaces. 2. work varnished and figured in the Japanese manner. 3. Japans,… …   Universalium Japan — /jeuh pan /, n. 1. a constitutional monarchy on a chain of islands off the E coast of Asia: main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. 125,716,637; 141,529 sq. mi. (366,560 sq. km). Cap.: Tokyo. Japanese, Nihon, Nippon. 2. Sea of, the… …   Universalium Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway — Sarin attack on the Tokyo subway Kasumigaseki Station, one of the many stations affected during the attack Location Tokyo, Japan …   Wikipedia Aum Shinrikyo — Formation 1984 Type New Religious Movement, Syncreticism Membership 1,650 Key people Shoko Asahara Aum Shinrikyo (currently known as Aleph) was a Japanese new religious mov …   Wikipedia Shoko Asahara — Born March 2, 1955 (1955 03 02) (age 56) Yatsushiro, Kumamoto, Japan Occupation Founder, Aum Shinrikyo Spouse Tomoko Children …   Wikipedia Guerra del gas — puede referirse: A cualquiera de los conflictos internacionales o internos (la denominación de guerra suele ser una licencia periodística) generados por la obtención, distribución (gasoductos) y consumo del gas natural, debido a su condición… …   Wikipedia Español 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”