The Tokyo District Court decided against the death sentence for former Aum Supreme Truth cult member Yoshihiro Inoue on Tuesday, largely because the judges rejected prosecutors' claims that he was the ringleader in the lethal sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
Inoue had been charged in 10 criminal cases.
While the judges conceded that Inoue, 30, played an important role in the sarin attack, their ruling said his part in the crime amounted to no more than logistic support and coordination.
Another factor in sentencing was the judges' determination that Inoue was responsible only for the confinement of Kiyoshi Kariya, a notary who was abducted by Aum. Kariya later died in an Aum facility in Yamanashi Prefecture.
Prosecutors had brought charges of confinement resulting in death against Inoue. The crimes in which Inoue was involved accounted for 15 deaths, including 12 in the subway attack. Viewed only from that perspective, the crimes could be deemed serious enough to warrant capital punishment.
But the judges took mitigating factors, such as the effects of Aum founder Chizuo Matsumoto's mind-control techniques into consideration. They also took into account that Inoue was only 16 when he joined Aum.
Nonetheless, the ruling said that the effects of brainwashing were not strong enough to diminish Inoue's criminal responsibility.
"The defendant did not reach a condition in which he completely suppressed his own will and had to render absolute obedience to Matsumoto," the ruling said. "He had sufficient recognition of the illegality of his acts."
But the ruling went on to say, "He was in a situation in which Matsumoto limited his thoughts and deeds significantly under the influence of Aum."
Inoue's lawyers asked judges to take into consideration that Inoue joined Aum at 16, when he was still not mentally mature, and spent about eight years in the cult.
Presiding Judge Hiromichi Inoue made careful consideration of the defendant's mental state, in that the formation of his character took place under unusual circumstance. Last December, the presiding judge allowed Inoue to be counseled by Sadao Asami, a religious scholar and former professor at Tohoku Gakuin University. The ruling took into full account the effects of mind control in deciding the punishment.
"The defendant's situation and mental condition when he committed the crimes should be considered factors in deciding a sentence," the ruling said.
The first trials of Aum members charged for the sarin attack set precedents that defendants who actually scattered the sarin gas receive death sentences and those who served as their drivers receive life terms.
In that Inoue was given a life sentence emphasized Matsumoto's leadership role in the crimes. The Aum founder will thus be hard-pressed to avoid the highest level of criminal responsibility.

("Yomiuri Shimbun," June 7, 2000)

The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced Yoshihiro Inoue, former "intelligence minister" of the Aum Supreme Truth cult, to life imprisonment for his involvement in the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in March 1995, the kidnapping of a public notary and eight other crimes.
In the ruling, presiding Judge Hiromichi Inoue said Inoue should not be held completely accountable for the crimes because of his mental state at the time they were committed, his later remorse for his actions, his apologies to the bereaved families and his attitude during the trials.
Judge Inoue spent about three hours reading aloud his reasons for the sentence before handing it down.
Prosecutors had sought the death penalty for Inoue, who was indicted in 10 cases, including the kidnapping and confinement of public notary Kiyoshi Kariya of Tokyo, who later died at an Aum facility in Kamikuishikimura in Yamanashi Prefecture.
The judge ruled that Inoue was responsible for planning and carrying out the sarin attack, but said he played only a supporting rather than a supervisory role at the crime scene, as prosecutors had alleged.
The fact that Inoue was not given a death sentence is likely to have an impact on the rulings for other cult members on trial because Inoue was a close aide of cult leader Shoko Asahara, 45, also known as Chizuo Matsumoto.
This was the fifth ruling handed down by a district court against cult members on trial for murder and attempted murder, in connection with the sarin gas attack. Nine more cult members are still on trial for this attack.
Judge Inoue ruled that Inoue's involvement in the kidnapping of the public notary amounted to kidnapping and confinement of the victim, rather than a charge of abduction and confinement resulting in death, as sought by prosecutors.
The judge also determined that the hydrocyanic acid attack at JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo was not intended to be an indiscriminate massacre.
He said that two days before the sarin gas attack on a subway system in Tokyo in March 1995, a meeting was held with the cult leader in a limousine. At the meeting Matsumoto issued no instructions that Inoue should supervise the attack, although prosecutors charged that Inoue and Matsumoto planned the attack in the limousine.
The ruling also said that at that time, Inoue did not express his intention to carry out the attack.
Although the judge said Inoue played only a supporting and coordinative role, the ruling stated that Inoue was an accomplice because he procured cars and passed on messages for the attack, as he was asked to. This effectively rebuffed the assertion by the defense counsel that Inoue only ran errands for the perpetrators.
The ruling did not recognize the causal relationship between Inoue's involvement in the kidnapping and confinement of Kariya and the victim's death.
Although Inoue admitted that he had intended to kill people when he carried out the hydrocyanic acid attack at Shinjuku Station, the ruling said the attack targeted people in the public toilet, not people in general, as would have constituted intent to commit a massacre.
A psychiatric examination found that Inoue was psychologically controlled by the cult leader, but the ruling said that even though Inoue's thinking and actions were to a certain extent greatly under the control of cult leader Matsumoto, Inoue's mental state was such that he was not completely under the power of Matsumoto.
Inoue became a cult member when he was 16 years old, thus the defense counsel pointed out that Inoue was immature when he committed the crimes.
The ruling said that in handing down the sentence, circumstances, including Inoue's mental state when he committed the crimes, had been taken into consideration.
The ruling also said Inoue had not reached the point where he could kill people indiscriminately.
The judge concluded that life imprisonment was an appropriate sentence on the grounds that Inoue's sincere reflection, remorse and apologies had benefited him to a certain degree.
Koichi Ueda, a deputy public prosecutor, said the ruling was unexpected and that prosecutors would thoroughly examine it to establish grounds for an appeal.

"Ex-Aum member Inoue gets life term"

("Asahi Shimbun," June 7, 2000)

Yoshihiro Inoue, Aum Shinrikyo's former ``intelligence chief,'' was sentenced Tuesday to life imprisonment for a range of crimes that included the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
Presiding Judge Hiromichi Inoue of Tokyo District Court rejected claims by prosecutors that Inoue, 30, oversaw the actual gassing operation. He accepted that Inoue played a key role, but said he did not release any deadly gas on subway trains.
The judge noted that Inoue had expressed remorse and said this was a mitigating factor in not sentencing him to death.
Public prosecutors who had demanded the death sentence said they would appeal the ruling.
Inoue was indicted for 10 crimes, including murder. The subway attack left 12 people dead and more than 5,000 sickened.
Inoue headed the cult's self-proclaimed ``Intelligence Ministry,'' and was a close aide of Aum founder Chizuo Matsumoto, 45. Matsumoto is on trial for masterminding the gassing and other crimes. Inoue renounced the cult after he was arrested in 1995.
The judge ruled that the sarin attack was planned by Matsumoto and other cult members to distract police from conducting searches on cult facilities.
The judge, who spent three hours explaining his decision before handing down his sentence, said Inoue never gave instructions to carry out the gassing.
However, the judge noted that the hastily prepared plot could not have taken place without the cult's intelligence chief-Inoue-knowing about it. The judge said Inoue had ensured that the cars used to take the attack team to subway stations would not break down. Inoue also set up a hideout in Tokyo to shelter the attack team from police and conveyed instructions to the members from Hideo Murai, another key member of Aum who was stabbed to death soon after the sarin attack.
The judge accepted that Inoue was deeply involved in the sarin plot, but concluded his responsibility was less grave than that of the Aum followers who actually carried out the attack.
The judge also accepted that Inoue had been brainwashed by Matsumoto. But he concluded that Inoue was not entirely without free will.
As for the abduction and forced confinement of Meguro public notary Kiyoshi Kariya in February 1995, the judge rejected assertions by prosecutors that confinement itself resulted in Kariya's death. He concluded that Inoue was only responsible for abduction and confinement.

"Survivors spit on Inoue sentence"

("Mainichi Shimbun," June 7, 2000)

Survivors and bereaved families of victims of the subway gassing carried out by AUM Shinrikyo blasted the Tokyo District Court for not giving the death sentence to a former cult member deeply involved in the case. "I'm dissatisfied with the ruling because I was sure he (ex-senior cult member Yoshihiro Inoue) would be sentenced to death," said Shumpei Takano, 69, who lost his son-in law, 29-year-old Eiji Wada, in the attack.
"Inoue was involved in not only the subway attack but also numerous other crimes.
"Japan's Penal Code is too lenient to criminals and cruel to crime victims. It's also the case with the Juvenile Law. Unless the legal system is fundamentally reformed, Japanese society will be jeopardized," he warned.
As if filled with remorse, Inoue, 30, former head of the cult's self-styled "intelligence ministry," burst into tears when the presiding judge handed down a life prison sentence.
However, many victims expressed doubt that Inoue sincerely regrets his involvement in the sarin gas attack on Tokyo subway trains in March 1995 that killed 12 people and sickened more than 5,000 others.
"He willingly talked a lot about something that would benefit himself (during his trial), but evaded talking about what could be disadvantageous to himself. I doubt he really regrets his crime," one of the survivors said.
A woman who lost her husband in the gassing said that Inoue, who acted as the commander of the cult's criminal activities, appeared simply elated with his words of regret.
"Ikuo Hayashi (a former AUM doctor who is serving a life term for carrying out the attack), had said 'I shouldn't be allowed to live.' Inoue never uttered such words," said the woman, who asked not to be named.
"What Inoue said (in the court) sounds great, but was just like a public speech. He is obviously elated with his own words."
Since the prosecution demanded the death sentence for Inoue, he felt that prosecutors had betrayed him even though he fully cooperated with them in investigating the subway gassing, his defense lawyers said.
Shoko Egawa, a free-lance journalist who attended Inoue's trial, said that the senior cult member had felt that prosecutors were the only people who recognized his reason for being.
"Inoue was vague, dissatisfied and anxious (before joining AUM), but believed that such feelings could be wiped out by Buddhist salvation," she said.
"(Former cult leader Shoko) Asahara then appeared as the 'authority' that could promise to save Inoue by delivering his soul from earthly bondage.
"Inoue felt comfortable and was able to realize his reason for being when he was praised by the guru."
Egawa said Inoue appeared lively when he provided testimony in court accusing Asahara of masterminding the sarin attack.
"At the time, prosecutors were probably the only people who recognized his intentions after he broke away from Asahara," Egawa said.
"But the prosecution demanded the (death) sentence, and that totally denied his intentions."

"AUM killer dodges noose"

("Mainichi Shimbun," June 7, 2000)

An artist's impresion of Yoshihiro Inoue, a former high-ranking member of AUM.
A former high-ranking member of the AUM Shinrikyo doomsday cult burst into tears of emotion when he was spared the death penalty and sentenced to life imprisonment in a ruling Tuesday on the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system. The shock judgment on Yoshihiro Inoue, 30, has attracted a great deal of public attention due to his previous position as one of the top members of the cult who AUM founder Shoko Asahara called a genius of AUM-style ascetic training.
During his lengthy trial, Inoue quit the cult and rose in revolt against Asahara.
Tokyo District Court Presiding Judge Hiromichi Inoue acknowledged that the accused was responsible for murder in the sarin gas attacks that killed 12 people and left thousands sick, but said that he had played no central role in the cult's murderous crimes.
"[Inoue] was actively involved (in the sarin incident) by procuring cars and acting as a messenger," the judge said.
The judge, however, didn't sentence him to death as demanded by prosecutors, saying, "He is seriously responsible, but played no leading role. The court cannot regard Inoue in the same light as those who played leading roles in, or directly committed, the gassing."
The judge also said that the court didn't put him to death because of Inoue's regret over his crimes.
"We have chosen to give him life imprisonment because he has suffered from a guilty conscience after understanding the pain felt by the (sarin attack) victims," the judge said.
The judge told Inoue, "You, without taking refuge in religion, should live a life of apology to the victims." Inoue sobbed and replied, "Yes."
The court's ruling horrified people who lost their relatives in the sarin incident.
"To be honest, I was extremely shocked," a 29-year-old woman, who lost her father in the gassing, said after hearing the ruling.
A lawyer working for AUM crime victims said that the court should have given Inoue nothing but the death penalty.
The National Police Agency (NPA) that investigated the sarin attack, was also shocked. While several policemen asked why Inoue was not sentenced to death, a high-ranking NPA official merely asked, "Was he given life imprisonment?"
The ruling said Inoue played a secondary role in the sarin attacks, rejecting prosecutors' insistence that he was a "commander" of the crime.
But the court admitted that Inoue was aware of the sarin scheme, revealing that he talked about how to carry out the crime with high-ranking AUM member Hideo Murai, who apparently supervised the sarin attack.
Lawyers representing Inoue had insisted that he was not guilty because he had no choice but to take part in the crime, masterminded by AUM guru Asahara, for to have refused to take part would have put his life at risk.
A prosecutor said that they would discuss what to do with Tuesday's ruling, indicating that they would appeal.
Following Ikuo Hayashi, 53, and two others, Inoue is the fourth AUM member to receive a life sentence for the sarin gas attack. Hayashi decided to accept the sentence, while the two others appealed.
Inoue was also indicted for alleged involvement in nine other cult crimes: The murder of AUM member Kotaro Ochida in January 1994, the kidnapping of a public notary, Kiyoshi Kariya, in February 1995, sending a letterbomb to the Tokyo governor in May 1995, and planting a device to release sarin gas in JR Shinjuku Station toilet in May 1995.
The court is expected to hand down sentences on other AUM criminals, who allegedly committed the March, 1995 gassing, in late June and July.

("The Japan Times". June 7, 2000)

Aum Shinrikyo's intelligence chief, found guilty of involvement in the March 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and other crimes, was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison.
While prosecutors had demanded the death penalty for Yoshihiro Inoue, 30, the Tokyo District Court handed down a life prison term on the grounds that he did not take part in the act of releasing the deadly gas on the subway trains and only provided backup support.
Despite his lack of direct involvement, the court said Inoue played an important role in the gassing, which could not have taken place as planned without his contribution.
Prosecutors pointed out that Inoue, one of Aum founder Shoko Asahara's closest aides, commanded other Aum followers who actually released the sarin on morning subway trains, killing 12 people and injuring thousands.
However, presiding Judge Hiromichi Inoue determined that the defendant's role in the attack was limited to "logistic support and coordination," saying that he had not been ordered by Asahara to take charge.
In the ruling, the court said that if the nature of the heinous crimes, the feelings of the victims and their families as well as the impact on society were considered alone, then Inoue did, in fact, deserve the death sentence.
The judge said the court was "giving the defendant a ruling that will allow him to live." The court took into consideration the fact that Inoue, who joined the cult when he was 16, showed deep regret over his crimes and that Asahara controlled his mind at the time of the crimes, he said.
Despite Asahara's influence, the judge said Inoue still retained some free will and was capable of recognizing that his acts were illegal.
Inoue left Aum a few months after his arrest in May 1995 and sought guidance from Buddhism.
"(Your time in prison) should not be used for religious training or meditation but as a time to repent, apologize and reflect as a normal human being (rather than as a Buddhist trainee)," the judge told Inoue.
Wearing a navy blue suit with a white shirt, Inoue burst into tears as the judge made his suggestions after reading out the ruling, a process that took more than three hours.
Inoue also stood accused of nine other offenses, including the abduction, confinement and killing of Tokyo notary public Kiyoshi Kariya in February 1995.
Two Aum members have so far been sentenced to hang for a series of crimes carried out by the cult.
Prosecutors greeted the ruling with surprise, saying they were considering appealing the sentence.
Inoue's defense said the ruling carefully considered the facts of the matter. They also welcomed the judge's subsequent instructions that Inoue reflect on his past as a human being rather than as a trainee monk.
After the ruling, a 29-year-old woman whose father was killed in the subway attack said she was surprised by the decision. She said she had expected nothing but the death penalty.
"I believe Inoue deserves to be sentenced to death because he was in a position of authority over those who executed the attack and he should be held responsible for their acts," said the woman, who declined to be named.
She said Inoue deserved the death penalty during her testimony in his trial in October.
The woman said Inoue had not appeared to regret his acts when she testified in October and she doubted if he had changed his attitude since then.
Tomoo Takei, deputy chief of the lawyers representing plaintiffs bringing civil suits against Aum, said that if the sentiments of the victims and their families were thoroughly considered then the only possible ruling would have been the death penalty.
But Taro Takimoto, a lawyer for Aum's victims and a supporter of those who have left the cult, said he supports the ruling. He said only Asahara should receive the death penalty.
Hiroyuki Nagaoka, leader of a group of relatives of former Aum members, said he was glad that Inoue had not been sentenced to death.
"I kept thinking that it could have been my son standing there being convicted," said Nagaoka. Nagaoka was himself attacked by the cult with VX gas in retaliation for his efforts to free his son from the cult.
Nagaoka said he believes Asahara was responsible for deceiving young people desperate to find meaning, but added that parents should feel some responsibility for letting their children follow Asahara.
"I just hope that Inoue will regret his sins deeply as a human being, like the judge told him to," he said.
Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, is still on trial for allegedly masterminding the subway attack and 16 other crimes.
Of the 14 cultists accused of involvement in the subway attack, one convicted of releasing the gas has been sentenced to death and another was given a life prison term.
Three others are awaiting a decision, and prosecutors have demanded they be sentenced to death. Two convicted of driving getaway cars have been sentenced to life prison terms, and another is awaiting sentencing.
Former Aum doctor Ikuo Hayashi, who released the gas on one of the subway trains, was sentenced to life in 1998 after the court took his confession and repentant attitude into consideration, claiming it gad helped authorities' investigation into Aum.
Inoue's sentence covered all 10 charges he faced in connection with the gassing and nine other offenses, including the lynching of Aum follower Kotaro Ochida in 1994, the VX-gas murder of Tadahito Hamaguchi, the attempted murder of Noboru Mizuno in December 1994 and of anti-Aum activist Hiroyuki Nagaoka in January 1995.
Both Mizuno and Nagaoka were targeted because they were protecting former cult members. Hamaguchi was attacked because the cult suspected he was a spy from the Public Security Investigation Agency.
Regarding the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack, prosecutors claimed Inoue had conspired with Asahara, senior cultist Seiichi Endo and the cult's late science chief, Hideo Murai, to release sarin aboard subway trains with the aim of distracting police as they were about to raid the cult's facilities. Police suspected at the time that Aum was involved in Kariya's disappearance, which occurred shortly before the attack.
Inoue's defense argued that he did not conspire with Asahara as charged, but merely followed his orders, urging the court to take into account that Inoue's confession helped prosecutors build their case against fellow cultists involved in the attack.
Inoue's lawyers also said their client joined Aum at the age of 16 and with little experience of life, was under Asahara's mind control and unable to resist his orders.

TOKYO, June 6 (Kyodo) - The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday sentenced former AUM Shinrikyo member Yoshihiro Inoue to life in prison for a total of 10 crimes including murder related to 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system that killed 12 people and injured thousands.
The presiding judge, Hiromichi Inoue, said he rejected the public prosecutors' demand for the death sentence because the defendant did not play an active role in the crimes, such as releasing sarin in the subway trains.
Koichi Ueda, a senior official at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, said he did not expect the ruling to be life imprisonment for such serious crimes.
Ueda said he plans to appeal the ruling after discussing the case with the Tokyo High Public Prosecutors Office.
Inoue, 30, was one of the closest aides to AUM founder Shoko Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto and who is on trial in 17 criminal cases.
The judge said Inoue is fully aware of what he did and regrets his deeds. ''I can fully understand his internal changes...He seriously expressed regret for each crime he committed.''
The ruling said Inoue played a key role in the sarin gas attack, and committed the crime in collusion with Asahara.
The court also rejected a defense plea that Inoue had been under ''mind control'' in following Asahara's orders and therefore was not fully responsible for his actions.
According to the ruling, Inoue -- the cult's former top intelligence officer -- did not tell other AUM members what to do during the sarin attack on the subway, as prosecutors had alleged.
During the incident, Inoue played such roles as extending rear support for other members who released the nerve gas and acting as a liaison among them, it said.
The judge, however, said Inoue did play a part in carrying out the attack, taking into account his high rank within the cult and his aggressive remarks.
In addition to the murder of the sarin gas attack victims, Inoue was found guilty of taking part in the murder of former AUM follower Kotaro Ochida, 29, in January 1994.
He also helped murder Osaka company employee Tadahito Hamaguchi, 28, by attacking him with VX gas in December 1994, the ruling said.
Inoue was also convicted for the kidnapping and murder of Kiyoshi Kariya, 68, a brother of a former AUM follower, in February 1995.
He committed all these crimes and some others by conspiring with Asahara, according to the ruling.
Inoue's lawyers had argued that it was harder for him than for other senior members of AUM to go against Asahara's instructions as he was younger and lacked social experience.
Inoue was in his mid-20s at the time of the sarin gas attack. He was one of AUM's longest-serving members, having joined the cult when he was 16, the defense said.
Inoue was in a situation where his thoughts and actions were restricted considerably, the judge said.
But it is not true he had fallen into a situation where he was not able to make his own decisions and where he completely obeyed what Asahara said, the judge said.
''He was able to understand that his actions were illegal. It is therefore not appropriate to admit that he lost part of the ability to sense responsibility for his deeds.''
During the trial, Inoue apologized to the families of people killed in AUM-induced incidents.
He also kept criticizing Asahara, telling him, ''You bear responsibility to tell the truth,'' and called on AUM followers who had fled from the authorities to give themselves up.
A 29-year-old woman whose father was killed in the sarin attack said, ''It was a completely unexpected ruling. I'm confused, to be honest.''
''I believe Inoue was just avoiding taking risks and that he has responsibility for having other AUM members release sarin,'' she said.
Takeshi Tsuchimoto, a professor of the Penal Code at Teikyo University, said the court should have handed down the death penalty, because Inoue planned, prepared and carried out so many lethal crimes.

"Japan cult member gets life term for subway gassing"

(Reuters, June 6, 2000)

TOKYO, June 6 (Reuters) - A key member of Japan's doomsday cult accused of a fatal 1995 gas attack on Tokyo subways was sentenced on Tuesday to life in prison for a total of 10 related crimes, including murder.
Tokyo District Court Judge Hiromichi Inoue rejected a prosecution demand that Yoshihiro Inoue be sentenced to death because he did not actually release the poisonous sarin gas in the subways or otherwise take an active part in the attack, Kyodo news agency said.
Inoue, 30, was the cult's top intelligence officer and a close aide to Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth) founder Shoko Asahara, who is on trial for numerous crimes related to the subway gassing, which killed 12 and left thousands ill.
Prosecutors said they would appeal the ruling.
One of Aum's longest-serving members, Inoue joined the cult when he was 16.
Defence lawyers argued it would have been difficult for Inoue to counter commands from other senior cult members, but the judge rejected the defence argument that Inoue was not responsible for his actions.
Inoue was also convicted of taking part in the murder of a former Aum member in January 1994, of helping to murder an Osaka company employee in December of that year and of kidnapping and killing the brother of a former cult member in February 1995, Kyodo said.

("Yomiuri Shimbun," June 4, 2000)

Prosecutors will likely start trial proceedings against Aum Supreme Truth cult founder Chizuo Matsumoto, also known as Shoko Asahara, in connection with the cult's alleged plan to manufacture automatic rifles, sources said.
The planned move by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office may be decided upon in a hearing as early as this week, sources said.
Of the 17 charges on which Matsumoto has been indicted, prosecutors will for the first time attempt to prove a case against him that involves no casualties.
The cult was reported to have been planning to produce about 1,000 automatic rifles, modeled on the Russian AK-74.
Of the 17 cases, 11 in which casualties are involved have already gone to trial, including those concerning the cult's involvement in the sarin gas attacks in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in June 1994 and on the Tokyo subway system in March 1995, and the killing of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto, his wife and baby son in November 1989.
Because the Matsumoto hearings have been dragging on due to such factors as prolonged cross-examinations by Matsumoto's counselors, parties concerned in the trials have called for expedition of the entire process.
However, prosecutors have described the cult's alleged attempt to manufacture automatic rifles a case of serious crime that should not be neglected, on the basis that it is evidence that the cult planned to overthrow the government, because it was systematically arming itself, the sources said.

("Japan Times," June 2, 2000)

A former Aum Shinrikyo follower sentenced to death in October 1998 told an appeals court Thursday that he deserved leniency because his confessions led to the breakthrough in the investigation of the 1989 disappearance of a Yokohama lawyer and his family. Kazuaki Okazaki, 39, was sentenced to hang for his role in the 1989 slaying of anti-Aum lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto, 33, the attorney's wife, Satoko, 29, and their 1-year-old son, Tatsuhiko, as well as the lynching of a fellow cultist the same year.
At the first hearing of his appeal before the Tokyo High Court, Okazaki's counsel claimed that at the time the crimes were committed, the defendant had been under the mind control of cult leader Shoko Asahara.
The lower court convicted Okazaki of conspiring with six other cultists, including Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, and the cult's late science chief, Hideo Murai, to kill the Sakamotos.
Sakamoto had been helping parents who were trying to retrieve their children from the cult at the time he and his family were taken from their Yokohama condominium late one night in 1989. Police found their bodies in 1995 in mountains in Toyama, Niigata and Nagano prefectures, based upon Okazaki's confession.
The lower court also found Okazaki guilty of taking part in the lynching of errant cultist Shuji Taguchi in 1989 at the cult's headquarters in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture.
The lower court deemed Okazaki's 1995 confession a surrender because he had owned up to investigators voluntarily before they drew up a comprehensive picture of what had happened to the Sakamoto family.
However, the court dismissed the lawyer's claim that Okazaki should be granted leniency for the confession, saying it was partly motivated by his desire to protect himself from the cult. Okazaki had defected from Aum after the slayings and had allegedly tried to blackmail the cult.
In addition, the lower court noted that even after Okazaki started confessing in April 1995, for several months he left out the fact that he strangled the lawyer himself.

"Ex-AUM bigwig pleads for life"

("Mainichi Shimbun," June 2, 2000)

A former high-ranking member of the AUM Shinrikyo cult sentenced to death for the 1998 killing of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto asked for leniency and requested the sentence of capital punishment be lightened during the first hearing of his appeal at the Tokyo High Court. Kazuaki Okazaki, 39, was handed down the death penalty in the Tokyo District Court on two charges of murder, including that of lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family.
Lawyers representing Okazaki in the first hearing of the appeal, however, labeled the ruling as unreasonable.
"Given that (the court) recognized Okazaki's surrender, it is unjust that the sentence was not reduced.
"Okazaki was the victim of the mind control techniques of the cult's founder, Chizuo Matsumoto (Shoko Asahara). That the (lower) court did not give a lightening of the sentence based on the defendant's mental unstableness is an illegal misapplication of the law," lawyers said, asking that the original judgement be quashed.
In response to the district court's claims that Okazaki's motivation for the crimes was in his own interests and that he had not displayed serious regret for his actions, lawyers responded that the court should take into consideration the fact that Okazaki's confession aided police investigations.

("Japan Times," June 2, 2000)

A former Aum Shinrikyo follower sentenced to death in October 1998 told an appeals court Thursday that he deserved leniency because his confessions led to the breakthrough in the investigation of the 1989 disappearance of a Yokohama lawyer and his family.
Kazuaki Okazaki, 39, was sentenced to hang for his role in the 1989 slaying of anti-Aum lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto, 33, the attorney's wife, Satoko, 29, and their 1-year-old son, Tatsuhiko, as well as the lynching of a fellow cultist the same year.
At the first hearing of his appeal before the Tokyo High Court, Okazaki's counsel claimed that at the time the crimes were committed, the defendant had been under the mind control of cult leader Shoko Asahara.
The lower court convicted Okazaki of conspiring with six other cultists, including Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, and the cult's late science chief, Hideo Murai, to kill the Sakamotos.
Sakamoto had been helping parents who were trying to retrieve their children from the cult at the time he and his family were taken from their Yokohama condominium late one night in 1989. Police found their bodies in 1995 in mountains in Toyama, Niigata and Nagano prefectures, based upon Okazaki's confession.
The lower court also found Okazaki guilty of taking part in the lynching of errant cultist Shuji Taguchi in 1989 at the cult's headquarters in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture.
The lower court deemed Okazaki's 1995 confession a surrender because he had owned up to investigators voluntarily before they drew up a comprehensive picture of what had happened to the Sakamoto family.
However, the court dismissed the lawyer's claim that Okazaki should be granted leniency for the confession, saying it was partly motivated by his desire to protect himself from the cult. Okazaki had defected from Aum after the slayings and had allegedly tried to blackmail the cult.
In addition, the lower court noted that even after Okazaki started confessing in April 1995, for several months he left out the fact that he strangled the lawyer himself.