Kiyohide Hayakawa (早川 紀代秀, Hayakawa Kiyohide, July 14, 1949 – July 6, 2018) was a member and deputy leader[1] of the Japanese doomsday-cult group Aum Shinrikyo. Hayakawa was born in Hyōgo Prefecture in 1949. After Aum Shinrikyo adopted a "ministry system", he was the Minister of Construction. Hayakawa was the person behind the organization's uranium mining at Banjawarn in Australia.
Kiyohide Hayakawa | |
|---|---|
早川 紀代秀 | |
| Born | July 14, 1949 |
| Died | July 6, 2018 (aged 68) Fukuoka Detention House, Fukuoka, Japan |
| Cause of death | Execution by hanging |
| Nationality |  Japan |
| Education | Kobe University (School of Agriculture) Graduate School of Osaka Prefecture University |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
Convicted for his participation in the Sakamoto family murder and several other crimes, Hayakawa was executed on July 6, 2018, at Fukuoka Detention House.
Early life
editHayakawa was born in Hyōgo Prefecture in 1949. His father was a staff member of the National Japanese National Railways. In 1952, his family moved to Sakai, Osaka. Hayakawa earned his bachelor degree in Kobe University. Then he went to the Graduate School of Osaka Prefecture University. After graduation, he was hired by a giant general contractor.[2][3][4]
Joining Aum Shinrikyo
editIn 1986, interested in Shoko Asahara's so-called superpower, Hayakawa contacted the Aum Shinsen no Kai (オウム神仙の会), which then became Aum Shinrikyo. After a phone conversation with Asahara, he was touched by his sincerity and decided to join Aum Shinrikyo.[3]
In following years, Hayakawa was believed to be involved in a series of crimes committed by Aum Shinrikyo, including killing a former member of Aum Shinrikyo called Shuji Taguchi and the Sakamoto family murder. In 1990, after the campaign for election of Aum Shinrikyo turned into a fiasco, this cult group decided to overthrow the government of Japan by force. To help Aum Shinrikyo's plan, Hayakawa went to Russia. To get access to the technical documents of military equipment, he presented some high-performance computers to Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Finally, he not only knew the synthesis method of LSD, but also succeeded to get the design drawing of a type of automatic rifle. He even helped Aum Shinrikyo purchase a Mil Mi-17 helicopter.[5][6]
As the deputy leader[1] of Aum Shinrikyo, Hayakawa arrived in Western Australia in April 1994, and then purchased an area of nearly 2000 square kilometers known as the Banjawarn Station. The organization started mining uranium there[7] – apparently even before the sale was finalized. In his personal notes, Hayakawa praised the high quality of the uranium ore in Australia, although it referred to the state of South Australia, not to Banjawarn (which is in another state).[7]
According to media reports from 1995, sheep carcasses in Banjawarn showed signs of exposure to sarin, the substance used in the Tokyo subway attack.
Hayakawa was arrested in Japan on April 19, 1995, shortly after the Tokyo subway sarin attack (and exactly on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing, although no relation between Aum Shinrikyo and the bombing is known).[1] He was sentenced to death in 2000. In 2009, his appeal was dismissed.[3] Hayakawa was executed on July 6, 2018, at Fukuoka Detention House.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Chicago Tribune, April 19, 1995, evening update
- ^ Furihata, Kenichi (2002). 無差別テロの源流 [The Origin of Indiscriminate Terrorism]. オウム法廷 (in Japanese). Vol. 8. Tokyo: Asahi Shimbun Publications. pp. 102–109. ISBN 978-4022613691.
- ^ a b c "「グル（麻原彰晃）の指示なら、人を殺すことも喜び」＜教団エリートの「罪と罰」（2）＞". 週刊朝日. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-18.
- ^ 現代. 講談社. 1995. p. 135.
- ^ a b "Profiles of top Aum Shinrikyo members, including six still on death row". Japan Times. 6 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2018-12-06.
- ^ Ian Bellany (12 December 2007). Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Responding to the Challenge. Routledge. p. 65. ISBN 978-1-134-11526-6.
- ^ a b William J. Broad, "Seismic Mystery in Australia: Quake, Meteor or Nuclear Blast?", The New York Times, 21 January 1997