Hideo Murai
Encyclopedia
Hideo Murai was a member of Aum Shinrikyo
and a scientist.
, studying X-ray emissions of celestial bodies, and was also a computer programmer. After graduation he embarked upon a respectable career at Kobe Steel in research and development, but soon joined Aum Shinrikyo
, a cult founded by Shoko Asahara
.
Murai quickly became head of Aum's team of scientists assembled by Aum Shinrikyo
. He was researching a diverse and unusual range of topics, such as electromagnetic pulse weapons, microwave weapons, artificially induced earthquakes and giant plasma weapons positioned in Earth's orbit. On a number of occasions Murai traveled to Eastern Europe in an attempt to retrieve the papers of scientist Nikola Tesla
, but discovered they were seized by Allied forces at the end of World War II
. Murai also traveled to the U.S. to gain access to the documents, but it is unknown whether he was able to access anything besides the publicly available materials, or if any classified Tesla works detailing the classified technology indeed exist. Reportedly, Murai was persistent in his attempts to acquire the materials, and employed various means. He also visited Russia, where he met with a number of scientists, including Nobel
laureate professor Nicolai G. Basov.
He was also reportedly involved in the purchase of computer and laboratory equipment that theoretically could be used in experiments with biological substances such as viruses; it is unknown whether any such experiments actually produced results and what they might have been. The bacteria reportedly produced by Murai which initially was claimed to be anthrax
was later found to be absolutely harmless.
Murai also designed the plans for underground 'dokubo' ("retreat") chambers—small completely sealed rooms equipped with sensors to measure oxygen consumption. He also developed many of the electronic devices used by Aum Shinrikyo members, of which most widely used is the PSI ('Perfect Salvation Initiation') helmet, which translated the electromagnetic recording of Asahara's brainwaves directly into the brain of the wearer.
n man named Hiroyuki Jo
(徐裕行 Jo Hiroyuki), a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi
(the largest organized crime Yakuza
group in Japan), stabbed Murai repeatedly, in the presence of 10 police officers and about a hundred reporters recording the events and broadcasting them live. The attackers didn't attempt to flee and were peacefully arrested on the spot. Murai died in an ambulance.
The yakuza have been implicated in a number of attacks of public figures in Japan who have angered the political right and certain business interests especially, such as that of Nagasaki mayor Hitoshi Motoshima, who criticized Japan's role in World War II; the photographer W. Eugene Smith
who helped to publicize the corporate mercury poisoning of the citizens of Minamata
, and the U.S. Ambassador to Japan under John F. Kennedy, Edwin O. Reischauer
.
originally claimed that his personal decision to attack Murai was the result of his anger at the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
that killed 12 people and injured thousands, but he soon confessed that his Yakuza
boss ordered him to commit the murder. Being a yakuza member, he had no choice other than to obey. Shortly after these revelations, Jo was found dead in his prison cell, reportedly a suicide, reasons unknown.
Equipment used by Murai and documents related to the research activities he performed were seized by the PSIA (Public Security Investigation Agency, Japan's equivalent to the FBI) during the raids.
members, Murai was involved in the Sakamoto family murder
and the production of the chemical gas sarin
, which supposedly was manufactured at his orders and under his supervision. This testimony contradicts the theory introduced by the prosecution that Asahara was aware of and personally ordered all of the crimes, not Murai. The judge in Asahara's trial later ruled him guilty in issuing orders, thus agreeing with the prosecution. Murai was never tried, as he died before he was brought to trial. Some think Murai's exclusion from the process was unfortunate. It is difficult to say with certainty whether Murai's testimony could have helped the defence team by shedding more light on the most important point—whether Asahara was aware of what was going on.
Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
and a scientist.
Life
Best known as head of Aum's Ministry of Science, Murai was an astrophysicist. He received a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Osaka UniversityOsaka University
, or , is a major national university located in Osaka, Japan. It is the sixth oldest university in Japan as the Osaka Prefectural Medical College, and formerly one of the Imperial Universities of Japan...
, studying X-ray emissions of celestial bodies, and was also a computer programmer. After graduation he embarked upon a respectable career at Kobe Steel in research and development, but soon joined Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
, a cult founded by Shoko Asahara
Shoko Asahara
, born on March 2, 1955, is a founder of the controversial Japanese new religious group Aum Shinrikyo. He was convicted of masterminding the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway and several other crimes, for which he was sentenced to death...
.
Murai quickly became head of Aum's team of scientists assembled by Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
. He was researching a diverse and unusual range of topics, such as electromagnetic pulse weapons, microwave weapons, artificially induced earthquakes and giant plasma weapons positioned in Earth's orbit. On a number of occasions Murai traveled to Eastern Europe in an attempt to retrieve the papers of scientist Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
, but discovered they were seized by Allied forces at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Murai also traveled to the U.S. to gain access to the documents, but it is unknown whether he was able to access anything besides the publicly available materials, or if any classified Tesla works detailing the classified technology indeed exist. Reportedly, Murai was persistent in his attempts to acquire the materials, and employed various means. He also visited Russia, where he met with a number of scientists, including Nobel
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
laureate professor Nicolai G. Basov.
He was also reportedly involved in the purchase of computer and laboratory equipment that theoretically could be used in experiments with biological substances such as viruses; it is unknown whether any such experiments actually produced results and what they might have been. The bacteria reportedly produced by Murai which initially was claimed to be anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
was later found to be absolutely harmless.
Murai also designed the plans for underground 'dokubo' ("retreat") chambers—small completely sealed rooms equipped with sensors to measure oxygen consumption. He also developed many of the electronic devices used by Aum Shinrikyo members, of which most widely used is the PSI ('Perfect Salvation Initiation') helmet, which translated the electromagnetic recording of Asahara's brainwaves directly into the brain of the wearer.
Death
Murai was mortally wounded when an ethnic KoreaKorea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
n man named Hiroyuki Jo
Hiroyuki Jo
is a Zainichi Korean member of , an uyoku organization, and the Mie Prefecture-based Hane-gumi branch of Yamaguchi-gumi, a yakuza organization. Jo assassinated Hideo Murai, a member of Aum Shinrikyo, on April 23, 1995....
(徐裕行 Jo Hiroyuki), a member of the Yamaguchi-gumi
Yamaguchi-gumi
is Japan's largest and most infamous yakuza organization. It is named after its founder Harukichi Yamaguchi. Its origins can be traced back to a loose labor union for dockworkers in Kobe pre-WWII....
(the largest organized crime Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
group in Japan), stabbed Murai repeatedly, in the presence of 10 police officers and about a hundred reporters recording the events and broadcasting them live. The attackers didn't attempt to flee and were peacefully arrested on the spot. Murai died in an ambulance.
The yakuza have been implicated in a number of attacks of public figures in Japan who have angered the political right and certain business interests especially, such as that of Nagasaki mayor Hitoshi Motoshima, who criticized Japan's role in World War II; the photographer W. Eugene Smith
W. Eugene Smith
William Eugene Smith was an American photojournalist known for his refusal to compromise professional standards and his brutally vivid World War II photographs.- Life and work :...
who helped to publicize the corporate mercury poisoning of the citizens of Minamata
Minamata disease
', sometimes referred to as , is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, narrowing of the field of vision and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme cases, insanity, paralysis, coma, and death...
, and the U.S. Ambassador to Japan under John F. Kennedy, Edwin O. Reischauer
Edwin O. Reischauer
Edwin Oldfather Reischauer was the leading U.S. educator and noted scholar of the history and culture of Japan, and of East Asia. From 1961–1966, he was the U.S. ambassador to Japan.-Education and academic life:...
.
Research
Immediately before the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack, Murai lectured at a press conference at the facilities of the Tokyo Foreign Press Club, where he announced the results of his research at Aum. Some of the topics he spoke of at length that day were as follows:- The possibility that the Kobe earthquake was caused by an electromagnetic weapon that was created based on the theories of physicist Nikola TeslaNikola TeslaNikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer...
- The utility of powerful microwave weapons with a wide range of applications on the battlefields, from annihilating armored enemy combatants to causing temporary mental illnesses or inducing extreme states of mind such as fear
- "Plasma weapons" resembling a chain of sputniks placed in Earth orbit and fueled by nuclear reactors that would emit plasma rays that could be quickly focused to attack any moving target with a wide radius of attack, as well as being able to penetrate deeply underground.
- The possibility of manipulating the weather, again based on Tesla's theories, causing radical climate changes and natural disasters such as typhoons or extremely high or low temperatures.
Circumstances surrounding Murai's death
Murai died six hours after the stabbing and Jo and another man were charged with murder. Hiroyuki JoHiroyuki Jo
is a Zainichi Korean member of , an uyoku organization, and the Mie Prefecture-based Hane-gumi branch of Yamaguchi-gumi, a yakuza organization. Jo assassinated Hideo Murai, a member of Aum Shinrikyo, on April 23, 1995....
originally claimed that his personal decision to attack Murai was the result of his anger at the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway
The Sarin attack on the Tokyo subway, usually referred to in the Japanese media as the , was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated by members of Aum Shinrikyo on March 20, 1995....
that killed 12 people and injured thousands, but he soon confessed that his Yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
boss ordered him to commit the murder. Being a yakuza member, he had no choice other than to obey. Shortly after these revelations, Jo was found dead in his prison cell, reportedly a suicide, reasons unknown.
Equipment used by Murai and documents related to the research activities he performed were seized by the PSIA (Public Security Investigation Agency, Japan's equivalent to the FBI) during the raids.
Accusations
According to testimony during the trials of a number of Aum ShinrikyoAum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese new religious movement. The group was founded by Shoko Asahara in 1984. The group gained international notoriety in 1995, when it carried out the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway....
members, Murai was involved in the Sakamoto family murder
Sakamoto family murder
On November 4, 1989, Tsutsumi Sakamoto , a lawyer working on a class action lawsuit against Aum Shinrikyo, a controversial and destructive "new religious movement" in Japan, was murdered, along with his wife and child, by perpetrators who broke into his apartment...
and the production of the chemical gas sarin
Sarin
Sarin, or GB, is an organophosphorus compound with the formula [2CHO]CH3PF. It is a colorless, odorless liquid, which is used as a chemical weapon. It has been classified as a weapon of mass destruction in UN Resolution 687...
, which supposedly was manufactured at his orders and under his supervision. This testimony contradicts the theory introduced by the prosecution that Asahara was aware of and personally ordered all of the crimes, not Murai. The judge in Asahara's trial later ruled him guilty in issuing orders, thus agreeing with the prosecution. Murai was never tried, as he died before he was brought to trial. Some think Murai's exclusion from the process was unfortunate. It is difficult to say with certainty whether Murai's testimony could have helped the defence team by shedding more light on the most important point—whether Asahara was aware of what was going on.
External links
- Tesla Doom Weapons by David Guyatt