Cult following
Nine years after the fatal sarin-gas attack in the Tokyo subway, Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth) doomsday cult, was finally sentenced to death last week.
These days, it appears from the outside as if commuters have few fears about such terrors that once shook the nation. They talk about how it will soon be cherry blossom season or the flickering signs of economic recovery.
But probe deeper and it is clear that people are a long way from putting behind them the traumatic events. The marathon trial helped the nation understand how the cult grew so quickly - with 15,000 followers at its peak - and exactly how it carried out the terrible actions. Yet many questions were left unanswered, such as how the cult so successfully built its empire amid the affluent society.
Why were all these educated young people magnetically drawn to Asahara's Buddhism-coated teachings and brainwashed into committing crimes on his behalf? And what is really going on inside the mind of the 48-year-old guru, who remained silent throughout his trial, and claimed that his disciples were out of control and had committed crimes without his knowledge.
Surviving victims still suffer the mental and physical traumas of the nerve-gas attack; some have never regained consciousness. Up to 3,700 people have qualified for insurance payouts. But many ended up losing their jobs because of minor but persistent disorders, while others have dropped claims to avoid prejudice at work. And the pain has not disappeared for the victims' families, either.
Despite all this, the cult has survived. It changed its name to Aleph following Asahara's arrest and denied taking part in any criminal activity. It now has about 1,600 followers - many of whom are believed to still be loyal to Asahara - and has no problem recruiting new members, according to security police who keep a close watch on it.
'Japanese society has failed to offer answers to the increasing number of soul-searching young Japanese,' said popular TV presenter Tetsuya Chikushi. Others note that youngsters are not trained to think critically.
Counsellors have successfully helped one-third of the cult's former followers to free themselves from its control.
Aleph, meanwhile, is making money by selling computers and software programs and building training centres across Japan. Its leader, Fumihiro Jyoyu, once Asahara's right-hand man, is keeping a low profile.
Concerns remain about Japan's lack of risk-control measures. Security may have been upgraded at airports and around VIPs in the wake of US calls to fight terrorism. But, for example, a number of Japanese doctors who treated the gas-attack victims say that the authorities do not seem interested in learning from the incident. Instead, they say, US terror specialists visited them to learn from the Japanese experience.
Asahara's death sentence did not end the judicial procedures, either. He is appealing. No doubt, Japan still has many challenges to confront.
