UNWANTED PRESS ATTENTION
Although a success for Aum, the debacle had drawn unwelcome attention from the press, and several newspapers began to write about the twisted religion of the Aum Supreme Truth. When the editor of one such newspaper, faced with a furious Shoko Asahara and a group of his followers, refused to withdraw his article, a hate campaign was launched against him, his family and his place of work. When the poor editor suffered a fatal stroke, Shoko Asahara was pleased and believed that heaven had had its vengeance for the defamatory articles.
More and more people began to object to the practices of the Aum Supreme Truth, yet the authorities felt helpless to intervene. So sensitive was the new-found religious freedom on which Japan now prided itself that they simply could not be seen to be suppressing any kind of religious group, even though accusations of cult activities had been made against the organisation.
It was not only the weak-willed and easily led individuals of society who found guidance in Aum. Brilliant scientists, physicists and engineers also succumbed to the enchantment of Aum and the charisma of its leader. This empowered Shoko Asahara, and made Aum Supreme Truth all the more dangerous.
It was not only the outside world who were becoming uneasy about the activities of this ever-expanding cult. Inside the compound, disillusion was creeping in and a few members who felt that they had not achieved the spiritual enlightenment which they had been promised, began to voice their concerns. These ‘dissenters’ were summoned to the master and told that their irrational apprehension was caused by mental instability, all the more reason to stay with Aum and become stronger. Those who did not return to the fold, and declared their wish to leave Aum completely, were never seen again.
When the families of these victims tried to contact their loved ones and were told time and time again that they were in ‘training’, they turned to the police. Yet, although the police were being forced by the ever-mounting complaints about the cult to investigate further, they were still not taking the appropriate action, and therefore the friends and families sought legal support.
TSUTSIMI SAKAMOTO
One man, a lawyer who specialized in human rights and who, having taken on a similar case with the Moonies, had previous experience with cults, took on the case of one family who were trying to get their daughter back. Word soon spread though and before long, Tsutsimi Sakamoto was representing 23 families who wanted Shoko Asahara to release their children.
The further Sakamoto delved into the activities of the Aum Supreme Truth, the more resistance he met, and the more lies he heard. A committed family man himself, this only made him more determined. He made a claim for the families’ rights to have proper access to their children, a request which met with the offer of letting one of his clients see their daughter. This was not good enough for Sakamoto and he fought for the same response for all of his clients. He went further, representing a former member of Aum, who had paid $7,000 to drink the magical, power-giving blood of Shoko Asahara, and having noticed no difference as a result wanted his money back. It could not be proved, he claimed, that the blood had magical properties, and he demanded to see the medical report which stated otherwise.
When the media heard of Sakamoto’s involvement and interviewed him, wherein he announced that Aum had imprisoned its members against their will and under false pretences, all negotiations between him and Aum ceased. Shoko Asahara tried to damage Sakamoto’s reputation, sending out flyers which made false allegations against him and threatening him and his family. Sakamoto refused to be intimidated and fought back even harder.
Realizing the potential problem he was now facing in terms of negative press attention and the possible revocation of his tax exemption, Shoko Asahara decided that ultimately and simply, he had to be rid of this man. A lethal poison was created, and injected by Asahara’s henchmen, who had broken into the family home in the middle of the night, into the veins of Sakamoto, his wife, and his baby son. The bodies were brought back to the Aum site, where Shoko Asahara inspected them with pleasure, and they were then driven away and dumped in different locations miles from the Aum Supreme Truth.
It did not take long for colleagues and family members to notice Sakamoto’s absence. They went to the lawyer’s home and a search of the interior revealed a badge showing the insignia of the Aum Supreme Truth. The police were contacted immediately but on hearing of the possible involvement of Aum, they refused to pursue the matter, claiming that Sakamoto may even have staged his disappearance and planted the badge in order to frame Aum. Media coverage and consequent public interest however, forced them to open some enquiries, but after Shoko Asahara held a press conference in which he denied any responsibility and claimed that over 40,000 of those badges had been produced (in reality only 100 were made), both the media and the police strangely lost interest.
ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Despite the euphoria of getting away with this hideous crime and also of having been able to crush any attempt to upset the balance and the carefully controlled conditions of Aum, Shoko Asahara was becoming increasingly paranoid. Perhaps encouraged by his apparent invincibility, he had decided to run for parliament. The move, was generally viewed as ridiculous. Aum’s policies were contradictory, their budget extortionate, their canvassing intimidating, and their campaigning – hundreds of Asahara’s followers parading through the streets wearing masks depicting the face of their leader – bizarre. Unsurprisingly, they were unsuccessful. Added to this humiliating defeat, their practices were still being questioned.
FAILED REVENGE
He decided to lash out at a world which he believed to be mocking him, and instructed the scientists in the group to begin manufacturing weapons. After careful research, they reported back to him that chemical warfare would be the most effective. What’s more, they could be created in their own laboratories.
The first attempt was a dismal failure. Asahara’s scientists worked away for weeks in Aum’s bio-labs and eventually produced clostridium botulinum, the most lethal and fast-acting poison in existence. Asahara gathered his followers together and took them to the safety of a faraway island, while the team in charge of unleashing this poison on Tokyo began equipping a truck with a spraying device. The attack was to be centred on the parliament buildings, partly for revenge, and partly so that when all the country’s leaders and government officials had died, the path would be clear for Shoko Asahara to step in amongst the confusion and assume his rightful leadership of Japan. The clostridium botulinum however, failed to work, and the scientists were forced back to the labs to find a more reliable alternative.
RUSSIA
Meanwhile Asahara continued his recruitment drive overseas, this time concentrating on Russia. The response he had there was simply overwhelming. He preached to the masses, he formed alliances with government officials, he made huge donations of cash and medical supplies, and an embracing media gave him his own weekly television show to further his cause. Russian citizens flocked in their thousands to join the Aum Supreme Truth. Not only did this provide a massive injection into the finances of the cult, but it also opened the door to Russian scientists and those who had been involved in the Soviet arms and weaponry programme, through both official and clandestine channels.
So the drive began to prepare for war. Plans were made to produce or procure every weapon or method of warfare imaginable. Those who had no expertise in the manufacture of arms, nuclear weapons, chemicals or military vehicles were to be trained to fight. Every member of Aum was to be prepared for the ensuing war. The project was colossal. Factories were taken over and new premises and laboratories were built.