Aum Shinrikyo’s Impact on Japanese Society

Aum Shinrikyo gained great notoriety when its leaders killed and injured thousands of subway commuters in Tokyo in March 1995. This work analyzes the vast impact that Aum Shinrikyo has had on Japanese society, including its great appeal to Japanese youth, the so-called “Aum Generation”. There is also an in-depth study of the question of civil liberties in Japan now that so many Japanese wish to ban sects. Final chapters detail many political questions raised by the Aum crisis, Aum’s revivalist mission to Russia, and attempts by Aum and other New Religions in Japan to gain money and fame by pushing a strong “Armageddon” theme. One chapter includes case histories of many Aum members.