The Japanese Doomsday Cult

Shinto is an ancient indigenous religion of Japan that is often considered Japan’s national religion. It certainly plays an important role in the lives of many, if not most, Japanese people, and it is closely tied to Japan’s national identity. Shinto has no known founder and no sacred texts or formal written doctrine, which makes it stand out from most of the other religions that we have studied about this semester. Central to the Shinto religion is the belief in the kami, which are considered spirits or gods; in fact, Shinto literally means “the way of the kami”. According to Shinto beliefs the kami permeate every area of nature and every human also contains a kami. In this sense the kami that each person has within them can be considered

It was March 20, 1995 and the time was 0800 hours, when the City of Tokyo was subjected to a terrorist act by a radical religious group. This group was Aum Shinrikyo, when translated mean “supreme truth”. The attack consisted of members of Aum Shinrikyo releasing poisonous gas into the crowded subway system. This particular terrorist group did not coordinate the attack for political revenge; it was an organized religious group attempting to devastate the Japanese government. By using John Parachini’s risk assessment perspectives the Japanese

Modern terrorism, as deduced from this literature, is acts to violence strategically used by secular groups spanning international borders with the aim of achieving a desired outcome. Further, it can be seen as organized activity whose genesis can be traced back to the 1880’s. From then to now there are identifiable traits and patterns observed from different (terrorist) groups which have allowed for the conceptualization of the term modern terrorism. This concept therefore, can be best explained in the context of being a wave or having a life cycle. That means it is a cycle of activity demarked by phases from inception and expands along the way then eventually it declines. The world, thus far, has experienced four waves of modern

Joes, A. J. (1996). Guerilla Warfare: A Historical, biographical, and bibliographical sourcebook. [ebrary]. Retrieved from http/:www.ebrary.com

The second half of the 20th Century saw the development of nuclear weapons, jet fighters and helicopters. The significance of nuclear weapons is illustrated in the Vietnam War, where the Americans, who were in possession of such weapons, posed a huge threat to the Vietnamese who lacked them. This drawback lead the latter to instigate guerrilla warfare, as it was the only possible way to oppose the Americans. This war demonstrates how the development of such destructive nuclear weapons lead to unconventional types of warfare. Irregular warfare due to advanced technology also had a huge impact on structure and organisation of forces. For example, in the Soviet war against Afghanistan, the occupation of the Soviets in major urban centres antagonised the civilians, and subsequently provoked uprisings. The Soviets found themselves drawn into fighting against the Ishtar and the Mujahedeen, which forced them to abandon conventional “front lines” and instead form disorderly groups to try and oppress the rebels. This irregular warfare was especially intense as the side that couldn’t compete technologically with the opposition waged ferocious wars. For example the Mujahedeen launched relentless ambushes and raids on the Soviets, keeping their initiative through offensive action. This type of fighting also affected the civilians, who were frequently targeted by the Soviets due to their support of the Mujahedeen.

This paper will explore research results done through the internet and through published books on the background of the cult group Aum Shinrikyo, now known as the group Aleph, and several other Sarin gas attacks, to include the terrorist attack on the Tokyo subway on 20 March 1995. There is a lot of speculation and questions surrounding this cult group, which will be discussed later, who started out as a peaceful yoga group by the founder and his wife, turn into a radical doomsday cult religion capable of not one but several chemical terrorists acts towards their own countrymen. According

One of the challenges facing the hibakusha and the peace culture is the tendency for some Japanese to use the bombings to avoid responsibility for their aggressive behavior in World War II and the Greater East Asia War. While the hibakusha see their roles as extending beyond Japanese culture to promote general world peace, Japanese nationalism tends to “[gloss] over the suffering imposed on others during those years [of the war] while simultaneously emphasizing their own suffering” (Siegenthaler 1122). Many Japanese schools used to promote peace education by taking field trips to some of the bombing memorials, but within the last decade, the education ministry has pressured schools to switch the curriculum to one that promotes nationalism

This suggests that the American’s were not the only people involved in the brutal attacks and that Japan was almost, if not equally just as wrong in their actions (Asada, 30). Although the bombs may be viewed as morally wrong, it is not the first time that morality has been abandoned.

On March 20, 1995, five male members of an apocalyptic Japanese cult released a lethal dose of sarin gas into the Tokyo subways, killing 12 and wounding thousands more (Olson, 1999:314). The men responsible were astrophysicists, doctors, and electronics engineers who graduated at the top of their classes (Hudson, 1999:140, 142). All belonged to Aum Shinrikyo, a cult fuelled by the beliefs of an inevitable apocalypse and that salvation could be provided through membership in the cult. Under the control of a partially blind guru, Shoko Asahara, cult members willingly cut all ties with their families and friends, leaving a normal life for one of little sleep, intense spiritual training, and meager meals. This paper details the spiritual beliefs of the Aum and the daily routines of its followers, including the lives of children in Aum communes and the distribution of punishments for minor acts of disobedience. The ways in which Aum Shinrikyo and its members counter Japanese capitalism, anomie in Japanese society, and stereotypical notions of cult members will be discussed. The creation of members’ sense of self through their achieved identities as cult members and the construction of a spiritual lifestyle that superficially opposes a lifestyle of consumption will also be examined.

The rise of radical Islam and it’s creation of it’s many terrorist groups is one of the largest political problems of the 21st century. The solution to this issue does not lie in blindly asserting military force within the Middle East, but rather targeting the root of the hate itself. Though, this does not disqualify military intervention. The target of this paper is to dissect the issues that create tension, with regards to the spectrum of modern terrorism, and to propose a solution to the conflict that rages on everyday. I believe that this is best accomplished through analyzing historical events and ideas that created our current situation. I will look into a few crucial events that I believe lead radical groups to harbor hatred towards

Political Violence is violence outside of the state’s control. How the violence is created can develop from a variety of reasons. There are three main explanations for political violence. Institutional which is when the existing institutions may encourage violence or constrain human action, creating a violent backlash. Ideational when ideas may justify or promote the use of violence, and Individual when psychological or strategic factors may lead people to carry out violence. Throughout the world there are many examples of these incidents. Whether exhibited through revolution, terrorism, State-sponsored terrorism or guerrilla war, people act to get their goals achieved. In this essay I will explain how effective political violence is throughout

No government has sponsored Aum Shinrikyo, but Japan previously recognized it as a religion. The United States, Japan and other countries recognized Aum Shinrikyo as a terrorist organization in 2007. Followers of Aum Shinrikyo exist around the globe, particularly in the United States, Russia, and Montenegro. As of 2016, Russia aggressively tracks Aum Shinrikyo members now, but previously allowed the cult to broadcast on state-owned television and radio stations. Montenegro deported over 8000, members (Chan,

“Terrorism involves the use of violence by an organization other than a national government to cause intimidation or fear among a target audience;” at least, this is how Pape (2003) defines terrorism in his article “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” (343). The goal of this article by Pape is to discuss suicide terrorism and how it “follows a strategic logic, one specifically designed to coerce modern liberal democracies to make significant territorial concessions” (343). Similar to Pape, Bloom (2004) and Horowitz (2010) also delve into the exponential increase of suicide terrorism and why it occurs. Although Pape, Bloom, and Horowitz concur that suicide terrorism is increasing, they disagree why it is so prominent. While the

According to John Pike, the Aum Shinrikyo faith strongly promoted Shiva, the god of destruction, and thus put a particular emphasis on Armageddon, or the end of the world. Asahara claimed salvation from this destruction for those who reached higher levels of consciousness by going through him, the “Supreme Master”; their reincarnated states would hold a special status amongst others. Apparently, this Armageddon was going to involve a third world war in 1997 that would be initiated between Japan and the United States; one supposed goal of Aum Shinrikyo was their involved their salvation activities during this time and the revival of the Japanese nation after the collapse of their country. Members of Aum Shinrikyo were also very anti-Semitic, and put part of the blame for this onto the Jews (fas.org).

First, freedom fighters can describe a group of people who take part in a violent struggle to achieve a political goal, especially to overthrow their government for good or bad causes. For example, the United States colonists were considered freedom fighters when they fought for the independence of America from Great Britain. The academic resource discussed in this paper present great information about terrorism has an effect on freedom fighters. These academic sources include two academic journals, two academic web pages, and a scholarly book. This final paper goes in depth regarding the world's view about freedom fighters, and numerous sources provide information on how terrorism plays a key factor on how freedom fighters are portrayed.