Aum Shinrikyo, also known as Aum and currently as Aleph, is a cult from Japan that combines tenets from Buddhism, Hinduism, and has an obsession with the apocalypse. The cult’s founder Shoko Asahara, claims that he is the first "enlightened one" since Buddha. Despite claiming to be enlightened, he incorrectly claimed the end of the world would happen in 1996 or between 1999 and 2003 (Fletcher 2012, para.2). Asahara claimed that the United States could be lured into a war with Japan and the situation would hasten the apocalypse that only followers of the cult would survive. Aum built great wealth by operating electronic businesses as well as restaurants, additionally; members were required to sign over their estates the cult. The cult claimed…
identifies that chemical attacks, such as the one committed by the Aum Shinrikyo (Aum) in Japan, are different from conventional terroristic attacks because the effects of the attack can be reduced due to interventions made both prior to and after the attack (2002). Interventions for CBRN attacks include; intelligence gathering, training for responders, and limiting the ability of acquiring…
Before founding Aum Shinrikyo, Asahara was a semi-blind acupuncturist, massage therapist, and Chinese medicine practitioner. He was born in March 1955 in Yatsishiro, a city in Kyushu. Asahara was the son of a poor tatami mat-maker from Kyushu. At the age of six, he was sent to a special government-run school for the blind. Asahara took advantage of other students through his ability to see. The school for the blind was his earliest noted instance of manipulating others. In 2007, Fumihiro…
How did reputation spur the Japanese cult, Aum Shinrikyo, also known as Aum, to use violence and how did they utilize said violence to create a new reputation? An act of domestic terror in 1995, and several smaller scale terroristic acts committed in the early 90s, is the kind of violence used by this cult to change and build a new reputation for themselves. After trying to gain political legitimacy, and failing, cult leader Shoko Asahara turned to building up his credibility and reputation by…
In 1995, a subway system located in Tokyo Japan was the target of a terrorist attack by a radical religious cult known as the Aum Shinrikyo. Their strategy included converging at the Kasumigaseki station and dispersing poisonous gas (sarin) into the air. This attack was not considered to be politically motivated; rather, it was an attack stimulated by the desire to distress the Japanese government, in an attempt to seize power. The attack was inclusive of five subways systems, and resulted in…
notoriety for leading the mass murder of many is called Aum Shinrikyo. Chizuo Matsumoto who is commonly known as Shoko Asahara was the one who established the cult. Born into a poor family of seven children and partially blind, he failed to gain entry into a university. Falling back to plan B he pursued a career in herbal medicine but was fined for not having a proper license. 1981 was about the time he seriously peered into Taoism and Chinese Astrology but it was not until 1987 that the…
gas being on those trains. Who had committed such a despicable act? It would not be long before police officials would figure out who. While Aum Shinrikyo also attempted attacks with botulin toxin and anthrax spores, they have an extensive history with the use of sarin gas. Aum Shinrikyo facilities were raided by law enforcement where high-end chemical producing equipment was seized, cult members drove a converted truck into…
Although, the ex-KGB agents, ex-CIA agents, or Israeli intelligence and other pro hackers, the professionals, are the most worrisome because professional’s who gather governments ' secrets and sell them, letting are never going to be caught unless they wanted to. An example of cyber terrorism is the terrorist group Aum Shinri Kyo. Aum Shinri Kyo was a cult of hackers that forcefully hacked into technology companies to steal technology that interested them, Powers notes. Cyber terrorism such as…
(1) Discuss the Aum Shinrikyo attack. What made the attack successful? Why were the casualties relatively low? March 20, 1995 a major subway line in Tokyo, Japan was attacked by the Aum Shinrikyo cult. Apparently, this was a rush job after the cult found out that the police were going to raid their facilities. Some cult members were assigned to put liquid sarin into plastic bags and drop them off in different cars on the busy Kasumigaseki subway line. Afterwards, they were to puncture these…
ISIS verse Al-Qaeda and Aum Shinrikyo—Using Chemical Weapons: In attempting to answer if ISIS’s apocalyptic views of the world paired with their willingness to acquire and use chemical weapons can prove to be evidence that the group will seek and use nuclear weapons, comparing ISIS to al Qaeda and Aum Shinrikyo is necessary. Al- Qaeda followed a similar trajectory as ISIS in their pursuit and use of chemical weapons. In 2001, a computer was found at an Al Qaeda safe house…