Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In 1995, an obscure Japanese religion launched a chemical attack on the Tokyo metro.

Members of the doomsday cult, which called itself Aum Shinrikyo, dropped plastic bags containing sarin liquid on the floors of five different trains and then pierced them. As the liquid evaporated, passengers began inhaling the deadly fumes. Thirteen people were killed and thousands more injured.

One of the passengers affected that day was Atsushi Asakahara. He spoke to Chloe Hadjimatheou in 2012.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Sarin attack. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Traitors is back, and so is that mysterious cloaked figure with the familiar fringe.
0:06.6	Yeah, it's me.
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0:13.6	And remember, I'll be listening.
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0:18.4	What a faithful.
0:19.7	We'll unpack betrayals and spill scandalous secrets with celebrity guests, traitors' legends,
0:25.0	and murdered and banished players.
0:27.0	The Traitors Uncloaked.
0:28.3	Watch on EyePlayer, listen for more on BBC Sounds.
0:36.5	Hello, welcome to the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service.
0:41.4	In March 1995, members of an obscure Japanese cult launched a nerve gas attack on the Tokyo Metro.
0:50.3	In 2012, Chloe Hajimathio spoke to at Sushi Sukohara, who was injured that day.
0:57.7	It's a bright spring day in Tokyo, and millions of commuters are on their way to work on the world's busiest subway system.
1:05.6	None of them is yet aware of the terrible science fiction-style nightmare that's about to unfold.
1:15.5	There was some kind of liquid on the floor, and when I got off the train, I couldn't see anymore.
1:22.5	There was no smell, but I couldn't breathe.
1:26.3	At first, most people just coughed.
1:28.3	When people began to panic, the worst hit fell down to the ground.
1:33.3	What no one yet realized was that they were suffering the effects of nerve gas poisoning.
1:38.3	Members of a Japanese religious group had dropped plastic bags containing sarin liquid on the floors of five different
	...

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