nhk.or.jp
August 2, 2023
A court document reveals the former leader of the Aum Shinrikyo cult was judged by the government as likely pretending to be insane shortly before he was executed in 2018.
The document was submitted as evidence by the government in an ongoing damages suit filed by a family member of the former cult leader Asahara Shoko, whose real name was Matsumoto Chizuo.
The plaintiff contends it was illegal to put Matsumoto to death while he was in a state of insanity and is demanding the government pay compensation.
Matsumoto was executed on July 6, 2018, after being convicted of masterminding crimes including murder. Among them was the deadly sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995.
The document was submitted by the Tokyo Detention House -- where Matsumoto was detained -- to the Justice Ministry seven days before his execution.
It suggested that Matsumoto was likely pretending to be mentally ill, quoting his psychiatric consultation records. It said the death-row convict was presumed to be sane, and that he acted disturbed in consultation sessions in a bid to appear insane.
The plaintiff has criticized the document's conclusion as groundless.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230802_14/
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