Sakamoto family murder

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On October 31, 1989, Tsutsumi Sakamoto (坂本 堤 Sakamoto Tsutsumi April 8, 1956 - November 4, 1989), a lawyer working on a class action lawsuit against Aum Shinrikyo, Japan's controversial Buddhist group, was murdered, along with his wife and child, by perpetrators who broke into his apartment. Six years later it was established that the assassins had been members of Aum Shinrikyo at the time of the crime.

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[edit] Career as anti-cult lawyer

At the time of his murder, Sakamoto was known as an anti-cult lawyer. He had previously successfully led a class-action suit against the Unification Church on behalf of relatives of Unification Church members. In the suit the plaintiffs sued for assets transferred to the group, and for harm inflicted by worsened family relationships. A public relations campaign in which protesters demanded public attention to their cause was instrumental to Sakamoto's plan, and the Unification Church suffered a serious financial blow.[1]

By organizing a similar anti-Aum public relations campaign, Sakamoto apparently sought to demonstrate that Aum members, similar to members of the UC, did not join the group voluntarily but were lured in by deception and were probably being held against their will by threats and manipulations. Furthermore, religious items were being sold at prices far greater than their market value, draining money out of the households of members. If a judgment was handed down in his clients' favor, Aum could become bankrupted, thus greatly weakening or destroying the group.

In 1988, in order to pursue the class action suit, Sakamoto initiated the establishment of Aum Shinrikyo Higai Taisaku Bengodan ("Coalition of Help for those affected by Aum Shinrikyo"). This was later renamed: Aum Shinrikyo Higaisha-no-kai or "Aum Shinrikyo Victims' Association". The group still operates under this title as of 2006.

[edit] Circumstances of the murder

On October 31, 1989, Sakamoto was successful in persuading Aum leader Shoko Asahara to submit to a blood test to test for the "special power" that the leader claimed was present throughout his body. He found no sign of anything unusual. A disclosure of this could be potentially embarrassing or damaging to Asahara.

Several days later, on November 3, 1989, several Aum Shinrikyo members, including Hideo Murai, chief scientist, Satoro Hashimoto, a martial arts master, and Tomomasa Nakagawa, drove to Yokohama, where Sakamoto lived. They carried a pouch with 14 hypodermic syringes and a supply of potassium chloride. According to court testimony provided by the perpetrators later, they planned to use the chemical substance to kidnap Sakamoto from Yokohama's Shinkansen train station, but, contrary to expectations, he did not show up--it was a holiday (Bunka no hi, or "Culture Day"), so he slept in with his family, at home.

At 3 A.M., the group entered Sakamoto's apartment through an unlocked door. Tsutsumi Sakamoto was struck on the head with a hammer. His wife, Satoko Sakamoto (坂本都子 Sakamoto Satoko, 29 years old), was beaten. Their infant son Tatsuhiko Sakamoto (坂本竜彦 Sakamoto Tatsuhiko, 14 months old), was injected with the potassium chloride and then his face was covered with a cloth. While the two adults struggled, they were also injected with the potassium chloride. Satoko died from the poison, but Tsutsumi Sakamoto did not die as quickly of the injection, and died of strangulation. The family's remains were placed in metal drums and hidden in three separate rural areas. Their bed-sheets were burned and the tools were dropped in the ocean. The victims' teeth were smashed to frustrate identification. Their bodies were not found until the perpetrators revealed the locations after they were captured.

[edit] Aftermath

Evidence of Aum Shinrikyo's involvement in the murders was uncovered six years later, after a number of senior followers were arrested on other charges, most notably in connection with the Tokyo subway gas attack. All of those implicated in the Sakamoto murders have received death sentences. The court found that the murder was committed by order of the group's founder, Shoko Asahara, although not all of the perpetrators testified to this effect, and Asahara continues to deny involvement. Asahara's legal team claims that blaming him is an attempt to shift personal responsibility to a higher authority.

The motive for the murder is not certain: Background information on Sakamoto's legal practice contradicts the 'blood test' theory, according to which Asahara ordered the murder to prevent the disclosure of his blood test that showed no special substance in his blood. A second theory is that the murder was designed to intimidate lawyers and plaintiffs, and end the potentially financially crippling lawsuit against Aum.

Whether Sakamoto's death changed the legal climate around Aum Shinrikyo is a matter of debate. No more class-action lawsuits were filed against it in the six years following the murders. Individual unfavourable rulings have harmed the group financially to a lesser degree.

Aleph, a successor group to Aum Shinrikyo, condemned the above described atrocities in 1999 and announced a change in its policies, including the establishment of a special compensations fund. Members involved in incidents such as the Sakamoto family murders are not permitted to join Aleph and are referred to as "ex-members" by the group.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

  • Judgements handled down by courts in Japan against the Unification Church
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