Japanese cult leader Shoko Asahara has been cremated in Tokyo after he was executed for perpetrating the Tokyo subway nerve gas attacks in 1995.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 63-year-old, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, was hanged on Friday, along with another six of the 13 members of the Supreme Truth sect, which carried out the attacks that killed 13 and left scores in an almost vegetative state.
Asahara's ashes have been kept in police custody and the justice ministry was coordinating with his lawyer about transferring them, state broadcaster NHK reported.
Asahara had asked for his remains to be handed over to his fourth daughter, aged 29, before his execution, although his wife and four other children have made claims on the ashes.
Asahara's fourth daughter had cut all ties with the rest of her family and members of the sect.
Since the cult leader's execution on Friday, authorities have tightened vigilance over former members and groups which have emerged from the cult.
NHK reported that authorities had also tightened security around the crematorium.
Asahara's followers released the deadly nerve gas in a number of subway trains during the morning rush hour on Mar. 20, 1995.
The sect, which revolved around Asahara's personality cult, was formed in the early 1980s and grew rapidly to reach around 10,000 followers in Japan and abroad at its peak.
Australian Associated Press
