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Tokyo commemorates Sarin gas attack

Tokyo subway workers and victims' families paused for a silent prayer yesterday to mark the 11th anniversary of a doomsday cult's nerve gas attack in the rail network -- Japan's deadliest-ever urban terrorist assault.

Fifteen employees at Kasumigaseki station, one of the sites that suffered the worst damage, laid flowers at a memorial and observed silence at the moment of the attack during morning rush hour on March 20, 1995.

"I'm afraid that the tragedy is being gradually forgotten over the 11 long years," Shizue Takahashi, whose husband was one of two subway personnel killed, said after laying flowers. "But there are many victims who still suffer every day from the damage of the attack, and I hope all of you to renew your thoughts of that day."

Members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, riding five trains converging on the Japanese capital's government district, released Sarin nerve gas, leaving 12 people dead and thousands injured.

Later yesterday, survivors and victims' families, along with their lawyers and supporters, planned to hold a separate memorial service to address issues involving the victims' rights, organizers said.

Cult leader Shoko Asahara was sentenced to death in 2004 for masterminding the attack and 12 other crimes, including another deadly gassing in central Japan and murder of an anti-cult lawyer and his family, which claimed a total of 27 lives.

His lawyers appealed the ruling, but argued that he was unfit for trial and demanded psychiatric tests, claiming Asahara suffers from pathological mental stress caused by confinement.

Last month, a court-appointed psychiatrist submitted a report to the Tokyo High Court saying Asahara may be feigning mental illness and "had not lost the ability to stand trial." Prosecutors have since asked the court to throw out Asahara's appeal.

The final decision of whether to start trial is pending.
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