Yoshiyuki Kouno
Encyclopedia
Yoshiyuki Kouno was a victim of the Matsumoto incident
, a sarin
attack that killed seven people and sickened many more in Matsumoto
, Japan
, on the evening of June 27 and the morning of June 28, 1994. Despite the fact that his wife was one of the people who has been gassed and comatosed (she never recovered and dies from it few years later), the investigating police
considered Yoshiyuki Kouno a prime suspect in the crime. Due to the deliberate leak from the local Nagano police force, Japanese media treated Kouno as the perpetrator, dubbing him the "Poison Gas Man" and he subsequently received hate mail and death threats.
However, after the much larger attack on the Tokyo subway
in 1995, Kouno was cleared of blame, Aum Shinrikyo
was deemed responsible. The head of National Public Safety Commission
Hiromu Nonaka
and media publicly apologized to Kouno. However, Nagano police had never directly apologized to Kouno until 2002.
While no sufficient evidence of Kouno's involvement was found, he was accused by the media in perpetrating the attack when police hinted at possibility of his involvement. While actually this was in violation of basic legal rights of the citizen, police could get away with it since the source that provided the information to the media was quoted as anonymous.
Kouno later participated in many media events in defence of Aum, arguing that since the time he was wrongly accused in connection to the incident, he realized how vulnerable innocent victims are to media hate campaigns. Pointing to his own personal experience with the media industry and police, he drew parallels to innocent Aum members who suffered public alienation and unceremonious intrusion into their private life justified mostly by fears generated by the sensationalistic media rather than any proof of actual guilt. Together with Yoshihiro Yasuda
, a veteran attorney arrested during his defence of Aum's founder Shoko Asahara
, he also campaigned against the death penalty and delivered speeches and lectures explaining the impact of Japan's judicial system on suspects and wrongly accused, as well as the social impact on relatives and associates.
Matsumoto incident
The Matsumoto incident was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated by members of Aum Shinrikyo in Matsumoto, Japan, in Nagano prefecture, on the evening of June 27 and the morning of June 28, 1994....
, a 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...
attack that killed seven people and sickened many more in Matsumoto
Matsumoto, Nagano
is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Matsumoto is designated as a Special City.-Outline:The new city of Matsumoto is the city comprising the mergers of the old city of Matsumoto and four villages. Matsumoto officially absorbed those villages without creating a new municipal...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, on the evening of June 27 and the morning of June 28, 1994. Despite the fact that his wife was one of the people who has been gassed and comatosed (she never recovered and dies from it few years later), the investigating police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
considered Yoshiyuki Kouno a prime suspect in the crime. Due to the deliberate leak from the local Nagano police force, Japanese media treated Kouno as the perpetrator, dubbing him the "Poison Gas Man" and he subsequently received hate mail and death threats.
However, after the much larger 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....
in 1995, Kouno was cleared of blame, 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....
was deemed responsible. The head of National Public Safety Commission
National Public Safety Commission (Japan)
The is a Japanese Cabinet Office commission. It is headquartered in the 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Office at 2-1-2 Kasumigasaeki in Chiyoda, Tokyo....
Hiromu Nonaka
Hiromu Nonaka
is a Japanese LDP politician and former member of the House of Representatives. He is currently a lecturer at Heian Jogakuin University.He has held the following posts:...
and media publicly apologized to Kouno. However, Nagano police had never directly apologized to Kouno until 2002.
While no sufficient evidence of Kouno's involvement was found, he was accused by the media in perpetrating the attack when police hinted at possibility of his involvement. While actually this was in violation of basic legal rights of the citizen, police could get away with it since the source that provided the information to the media was quoted as anonymous.
Kouno later participated in many media events in defence of Aum, arguing that since the time he was wrongly accused in connection to the incident, he realized how vulnerable innocent victims are to media hate campaigns. Pointing to his own personal experience with the media industry and police, he drew parallels to innocent Aum members who suffered public alienation and unceremonious intrusion into their private life justified mostly by fears generated by the sensationalistic media rather than any proof of actual guilt. Together with Yoshihiro Yasuda
Yoshihiro Yasuda
Yoshihiro Yasuda is a famed and controversial lawyer in Japan who is known for his anti-death penalty activism in Japan...
, a veteran attorney arrested during his defence of Aum's founder 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...
, he also campaigned against the death penalty and delivered speeches and lectures explaining the impact of Japan's judicial system on suspects and wrongly accused, as well as the social impact on relatives and associates.
Further reading
- Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese PsycheUnderground (stories)is a book by Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami about the 1995 Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway. Described as a work of "journalistic literature," it collects a series of separate interviews Murakami conducted with 60 victims of the attacks and 8 members of Aum, descriptions of how...
by Haruki MurakamiHaruki Murakamiis a Japanese writer and translator. His works of fiction and non-fiction have garnered him critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and Jerusalem Prize among others.He is considered an important figure in postmodern literature...