|
Most Japanese still fear doomsday cult (03/03/2001)
TOKYO: The vast majority of Japanese say they still fear the mysterious
Supreme Truth doomsday cult that set off a fatal nerve gas attack
on Tokyo's crowded subway system nearly five years ago, a newspaper
reported yesterday.
Those fears are fanned by almost daily reports on newspaper front
pages, including revelations this week that some government ministries,
including the Defence Agency, had unknowingly installed software
developed by cult-related companies.
A poll conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun of 1,928 people showed
that 81 per cent of those surveyed said they still harboured worries
about the Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth) cult.
The poll said 57 per cent believed the cult would continue its
activities, despite coming under government surveillance since last
month and becoming the target of several police raids.
In the 1995 nerve gas attack on the capital's subway system, 12
commuters were killed and thousands injured. Aum preached that the
world was coming to an end and that the cult must arm itself to
prepare for various calamities.
In a further sign of the cult's activities, major Japanese automaker
Honda Motor Co said the personnel records of as many as 3,000 managers
had fallen into the hands of the cult.
The automobile giant said the records, which included the name,
age and position of most managerial officials, were leaked to the
cult when Honda inadvertently ordered new software from an Aum-related
company in 1997.
"We were lucky that the information was just on their names,
age and positions," a Honda spokesman said. The company has
not yet decided whether it will stop using the software, he said.
The news follows Tuesday's discovery that Aum members were involved
in designing software for computer systems at a number of ministries
and several major private companies.
|
