Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984
Obviously, a false Messiah, Asahara's purported mission was to take upon himself the sins of the world. Also, he claimed he could transfer spiritual power to his followers and ultimately take away their sins and bad deeds. Aum Shinrikyo began as a yoga group but quickly evolved into a totalitarian cult, recruiting the best and brightest from Japan’s universities, and reaching several thousand members.
The founder and leader, Asahara, outlined a doomsday prophecy, which included a third world war instigated by the United States. He described a final conflict culminating in a nuclear 'Armageddon.'
The group carried out the deadly Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995, killing 29 people and injuring thousands more. It was also found to have been responsible for another smaller sarin attack the previous year.
The group never confessed, claiming that those who carried out attacks did so secretly, without being known to other executives and ordinary believers.
The cult, classified as a terrorist organisation, created their own shadow cabinet as they planned to take over Japan, and also to release poison gas in New York and other big cities.
The court cases involving the 13 ringleaders of the group and their accomplices lasted until January 2018, when all cases were finalised. Shoko Asahara, the leader of the cult and six of his followers were hanged on 6 July 2018.
Japan executed the final six members of the group this morning 26 July 2018. The six executed individuals were: Masato Yokohama, Kazuaki Okazaki, Satoru Hashimoto, Yasuo Hayashi, Toru Toyoda and Kenichi Hirose.
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