Terrorist attack in Tokyo after car hits eight people: The shadow of Aum
Chika Mori and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
Tokyo witnessed an act of terror when Kazuhiro Kusakabe, 21 years of age, deliberately drove into pedestrians in the fashion district of Harajuku. It is known that one person is in serious condition, out of the eight people who were hit.
Kusakabe informed investigators that he “would not make any excuse” because his act of terror was “in retaliation for an execution.” However, it remains unknown if this applies to the death penalty in general, or in relation to a specific event.
In 1995, the mega-city of Tokyo witnessed a brutal sarin attack by the supporters of Aum Shinrikyo. Following on from this, the leader of this religious cult was executed last year. Therefore, Shoko Asahara and individuals linked to the brutal sarin attack were executed in 2018.
Hence, with many Aum Shinrikyo members being executed last year, it remains to be seen if Kusakabe sympathized with this religious cult. Either way, this angle needs investigating based on his words
Of course, information remains sketchy at the moment. Therefore, the real motives of Kusakabe are still being patched up. In other words, it could be connected to the executions of Aum Shinrikyo members, mental health issues, an independent act of terror, or other factors. However, irrespective of the real motive, it is abundantly clear that he tried to kill innocent people in the heart of Tokyo.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-46726401
Modern Tokyo News is part of the Modern Tokyo Times group
DONATIONS to SUPPORT MODERN TOKYO TIMES – please pay PayPal and DONATE to sawakoart@gmail.com
http://moderntokyotimes.com Modern Tokyo Times – International News and Japan News
http://sawakoart.com – Sawako Utsumi personal website and Modern Tokyo Times artist
https://moderntokyonews.com Modern Tokyo News – Tokyo News and International News
http://global-security-news.com Global Security News – Geopolitics and Terrorism
PLEASE JOIN ON TWITTER
https://twitter.com/MTT_News Modern Tokyo Times