Masami Tsuchiya (terrorist)

Masami Tsuchiya (土谷 正実, Tsuchiya Masami, January 6, 1965 – July 6, 2018) was a senior member of Aum Shinrikyo, responsible for the deaths of a combined 19 people and for the production of sarin, VX nerve agent, PCP and LSD.[1] He is also notable for not showing remorse at the trials and remaining loyal to cult leader Shoko Asahara.[1] He was member of the Ministry of Health of the cult,[2] with prosecutors calling him "the second most important figure involved in the gas attacks by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, after cult leader Shoko Asahara himself."[3]

Masami Tsuchiya
土谷正実
Undated photo
Born(1965-01-06)January 6, 1965
Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
DiedJuly 6, 2018(2018-07-06) (aged 53)
Tokyo Detention House, Katsushika, Tokyo, Japan
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
NationalityJapanese
Known forAum Shinrikyo membership and numerous attacks and murders
Criminal charge(s)Murder
Harboring a fugitive
Criminal penaltyDeath
Criminal statusExecuted

Biography

A native of Chiyoda, Tokyo, he joined Aum at the age of 26 in 1991 after a yoga class he took as treatment for whiplash he suffered in a car accident.[2] Tsuchiya earned his master’s degree in physical and organic chemistry from University of Tsukuba before fully committing to Aum Shinrikyo.[2]

Tsuchiya was charged with seven counts: the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack that killed 12 people; the June 1994 sarin attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, that killed seven; the three VX gas attacks, in 1994 and 1995, that killed one; production of PCP; and harboring Aum fugitives.[4] During the trials, he was notably defiant and insulted the prosecution and families of the victims and showed loyalty to Asahara.[4] He was found guilty of all counts in January 2004 and sentenced to death. The judge who delivered the sentence said that though not directly involved in the attacks, he deserved to die for his "sheer evil".[1]

Tsuchiya was notably loyal to Asahara, describing himself a "direct disciple of the guru",[4] and calling Asahara sonshi (honorable master).[1]

After his death sentence was handed by the Tokyo District Court, he repeatedly asked for a commutation of sentence from death to life imprisonment, but his request was turned down first by the Tokyo High Court in August 2006[5] and later by the Supreme Court, which rejected his appeal with the argument that he played a decisive role in the 1995 attack against the subway.[6] Tsuchiya reacted saying "Natural result. I wanted to think about what I could do with a life-long apology."[7] His death sentence was finalized in 2011 and he was executed along with Asahara and five other cultists on July 6, 2018.[8]

References
  1. "Profiles of top Aum Shinrikyo members, including six still on death row". The Japan Times. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  2. "Profiles of the 7 doomsday cult members executed in Japan". Fox News. Associated Press. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. "Japanese Chemist Sentenced to Death for Participation in Terror Attacks". Voice of America. 26 October 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  4. "Aum chemist sentenced to hang". The Japan Times. 31 January 2004. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  5. The Yomiuri Shimbun, edition of August 18, 2006
  6. "オウム事件　土谷被告、死刑確定へ　最高裁上告棄却" [Aum case: Tsuchiya death sentence appeal to Supreme Court rejected]. The Nikkei (in Japanese). February 15, 2011. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  7. Mainichi Newspaper February 15, 2011
  8. "'When will I be executed?': AUM death row inmates anxious in final months". The Mainichi. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
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