Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said last month that the US was concerned about the potential use of sarin gas in Syria. More than two decades ago, a cult group plunged Japan into terror by releasing the same nerve agent on rush-hour subway trains in which 13 people were killed
Headgear to connect to leader’s brainwaves
Today, the cult Aum Shinrikyo’s spin offs continue to attract people, according to AFP. Cult head Shoko Asahara is on death row, along with 12 of his disciples. He was arrested in 1995 after the sarin attack, but the cult survived the crackdown, renaming itself Aleph and drawing new recruits into its fold
Aleph officially renounced ties to Asahara in 2000, but the doomsday guru retains significant influence, according to Japan’s Public Security Intelligence Agency. Raids on Aleph facilities have found recordings of his teachings as well as a device used by the Aum cult known as a “Perfect Salvation Initiation”, a type of headgear that emits weak electric currents which members believe connects them to Asahara’s brainwaves
Members even in Russia
Aleph and other splinter groups, which deny links to Asahara despite the claims of authorities, have 1,650 members in Japan and hundreds more in Russia, according to the Public Security Intelligence Agency. It says the groups attract around 100 new followers annually via yoga classes, fortune-telling and other activities that do not mention the cult’s name, often targeting young people who do not remember the 1995 subway attack
Eating food with ceramic shards
Asahara and his wife Tomoko had four daughters and two sons, and most of the family remains within the cult. One daughter who left in 2006, aged 16, has described horrifying ordeals during her childhood, including being forced to eat food with ceramic shards in it and being left in the cold in little clothing