DATE=6/29/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=JAPAN CULT (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-263886
BYLINE=JOCELYN FORD
DATELINE=TOKYO
CONTENT=

VOICED AT: 

INTRO:  A Japanese court on Thursday issued its 
second death sentence to a member of the Aum 
Shinrikyo (ohm shinleekyo) so-called Doomsday 
Cult - responsible for the 1995 nerve gas attack 
on the Tokyo subways.  Twelve people died in that 
attack, and more than five thousand other 
commuters fell ill.  Jocelyn Ford has more from 
Tokyo.

TEXT:  The Tokyo district court said 42-year-old 
Yasuo Hayashi deserved the death sentence because 
he released the largest amount of sarin gas in 
the Tokyo subway.

            /// OPT ///

      Hayashi had also participated in an earlier 
      gas attack that killed seven people, and 
      after the Tokyo subway attack, he took part 
      in a third attempted cyanide gassing that 
      failed.

            /// END OPT ///

Nicknamed the "murder machine" by Japan's media, 
Hayashi had been a senior member of the Aum 
Shinrikyo's science and technology team.

He is believed to have played a key role in other 
crimes committed by the cult, such as harassing 
and killing former believers who quit.

Hayashi's lawyers said the sentence was too harsh 
because Hayashi released the sarin gas under 
threat of death if he disobeyed the cult's 
leader, Shoko Asahara.

But Tokyo district court Judge Kiyoshi Kimura 
rejected the defense lawyer's claim, saying 
Hayashi may have feared Asahara, but was not 
acting under threat of death.  Hayashi's lawyers 
say they may file an appeal.

Of the five cult members who released sarin gas, 
Hayashi is the third to be sentenced.  One was 
imprisoned for life, and another also received a 
death sentence.

The guru, Shoko Asahara, is still on trial.  Some 
legal experts predict it could take more than 15 
years for a final verdict because of Japan's 
notoriously slow courts.

            /// REST OPT ///

Meanwhile, the cult is still active, although it 
has changed its name, and claims it is now a 
peaceful organization.  In May, the group's one 
thousand members said it would pay 38 million 
dollars in compensation to victims of the 1995 
subway attack.

Early this year, the government used a new law 
targeting subversive groups to put the group 
under surveillance for three years, giving 
authorities the right to inspect facilities. 
(Signed)

NEB/JF/G/GC/JO/TVM/KL



29-Jun-2000 07:48 AM EDT (29-Jun-2000 1148 UTC)
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Source: Voice of America
.