All of it is composed by Shoko Asahara, the bearded guru of Aum Shinrikyo, the sect responsible for releasing nerve gas in Tokyo's subways just four years ago. It is the eve of the millennium, and these Aum Shinrikyo followers, in the audience and on stage, believe they will be among the survivors. Many of their fellow believers are emerging from the Tokyo Kosuge maximum-security prison after serving sentences for their alleged involvement. They are eagerly awaiting the release in a few months of Fumihiro Joyu, their spokesman, considered a folk hero against authoritarianism and conformism by Japan's younger generation. According to police, the sect is regrouping and growing.
Aum members express no remorse for the crimes of four years ago.
And there's a strong possibility that Aum Shinrikyo members did not commit any of the crimes they are accused of. Akira Kurata, recently released from solitary confinement, agrees. Between 70 to 80 percent of the prosecutor's charges against me were fabrications. Indeed all of the several dozen convictions so far have been decided solely on the basis of public prosecutors' scenarios or, in a handful of cases, on confessions. Not just sect members but attorneys, academics and journalists are concerned about these trials.