Aum Victim Seeks Enforcement of Compensation Order; Aleph Yet to Pay Woman Widowed in 1995 Gas Attack, Others

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:33 JST, March 13, 2025

People, including Shizue Takahashi, 78, who lost her husband in the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the Aum Supreme Truth cult, visited the Justice Ministry and the Public Security Intelligence Agency in Tokyo on Wednesday to submit a written request seeking cooperation in obtaining victim compensation.

Next Thursday will mark 30 years since the deadly attack.

The request says that although a final ruling has been made ordering Aleph, the cult’s main successor, to pay over ¥1 billion in compensation, it has not complied. The request called for the government to buy up over ¥1 billion in claims against Aleph held by an organization that supports the victims of the Aum cult and distribute money to the victims.