日本地鐵毒氣殺人事件，又稱「東京地下鐵沙林毒氣事件」，是日本戰後史上最嚴重、也最震撼人心的無差別恐怖攻擊之一。1995年3月20日清晨通勤尖峰時段，邪教組織奧姆真理教策劃並執行這起攻擊，在東京多條繁忙的地鐵路線上釋放致命的神經毒氣沙林，直接衝擊首都的心臟地帶，對日本社會造成難以抹滅的創傷。

當天早上，奧姆真理教成員分頭行動，在丸之內線、日比谷線與千代田線等通往霞關官廳區的地鐵列車上，將裝有液態沙林的塑膠袋帶入車廂，再以尖銳物刺破袋子，使毒氣迅速揮發並在密閉空間內擴散。這些列車多半行經政府機關密集的區域，顯示教團的目標並非隨機，而是試圖癱瘓國家中樞運作。由於沙林無色、氣味不明顯，許多乘客在初期甚至未意識到危險，直到出現視力模糊、呼吸困難、抽搐與倒地等症狀，才驚覺情況異常。

這起攻擊最終造成14人死亡，其中包括多年後因後遺症去世的受害者，受傷人數超過6,300人。大量傷者即使撿回一命，仍長期飽受神經損傷、視力障礙與心理創傷之苦。事件不僅癱瘓東京地鐵系統，也讓日本社會第一次如此真切地意識到，大規模化學恐怖攻擊並非遙遠的戰爭場景，而是可能在日常生活中突然降臨。

事件的根源，來自奧姆真理教這個披著宗教外衣的極端組織。該教團由麻原彰晃（本名松本智津夫）創立，他以末日預言、精神修行與「拯救世界」的神聖使命包裝教義，吸引不少高學歷、理工背景的年輕菁英加入。在封閉而高度服從的組織結構下，信徒逐漸被洗腦，將違法甚至殺戮合理化，視為實現教主預言的必要手段。沙林毒氣攻擊的動機，一方面是為了轉移警方對教團非法活動的調查壓力，另一方面則是企圖製造混亂，實現其扭曲的末日思想。

事件發生後，日本政府展開史無前例的大規模搜查與鎮壓行動，奧姆真理教的據點被查封，核心幹部與教主相繼落網。經過多年審判，麻原彰晃與多名高層幹部被判處死刑。2018年7月，日本政府分批執行死刑，包括麻原彰晃在內，共13名死刑犯伏法，為這起延宕二十多年的重大案件畫下法律上的句點。

然而，事件的影響並未隨著判決與行刑而結束。東京地下鐵沙林毒氣事件深刻改變日本對恐怖主義與邪教問題的看法，也促使政府重新檢視宗教法人制度、加強對可疑團體的監管，同時全面提升公共運輸系統的安全與緊急應變能力。在社會層面，這起事件更引發對「高學歷為何仍會被極端思想吸納」、「現代社會中的孤立與精神依附」等議題的長期反思。

作家村上春樹在事件後，透過大量訪談受害者與部分加害者，寫下《地下鐵事件》等作品，嘗試從個人生命經驗出發，探討這場悲劇背後的集體心理與人性裂縫。正因如此，東京地下鐵沙林毒氣事件不只是一樁恐怖攻擊，更成為日本社會持續反省現代性、信仰、權威與群體盲從的重要歷史傷痕。

The Japanese subway poison gas attack, also known as the Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack, was one of the most severe and shocking acts of indiscriminate terrorism in Japan’s postwar history. On the morning of March 20, 1995, during the rush-hour commute, the cult Aum Shinrikyō planned and carried out the attack by releasing the deadly nerve agent sarin on several heavily used subway lines in Tokyo. The assault struck at the very heart of the capital and inflicted deep, lasting trauma on Japanese society.

That morning, members of Aum Shinrikyō acted in coordinated groups, boarding trains on the Marunouchi, Hibiya, and Chiyoda Lines—routes that pass through the Kasumigaseki district, where many government ministries are located. They brought plastic bags filled with liquid sarin onto the trains and punctured them with sharp objects, allowing the toxin to rapidly evaporate and spread within the enclosed cars. The fact that these trains largely traveled through areas dense with government offices made it clear that the targets were not random, but part of an attempt to paralyze the functioning of the state. Because sarin is colorless and has no obvious odor, many passengers did not immediately realize they were in danger. Only when symptoms such as blurred vision, difficulty breathing, convulsions, and collapse appeared did the seriousness of the situation become apparent.

The attack ultimately resulted in 14 deaths, including victims who later died from long-term complications, and injured more than 6,300 people. Many survivors, even after escaping death, have continued to suffer for years from neurological damage, visual impairment, and psychological trauma. The incident not only crippled Tokyo’s subway system but also forced Japanese society, for the first time in such a visceral way, to confront the reality that large-scale chemical terrorism was not a distant wartime scenario, but something that could erupt suddenly in everyday life.

The roots of the incident lay in Aum Shinrikyō itself, an extremist organization masquerading as a religious movement. Founded by Shoko Asahara (born Chizuo Matsumoto), the group attracted followers through apocalyptic prophecies, spiritual practices, and claims of a divine mission to “save the world.” Many of its members were young, highly educated elites with backgrounds in science and engineering. Within the group’s closed and highly authoritarian structure, followers were gradually indoctrinated to rationalize illegal acts and even murder as necessary steps toward fulfilling the leader’s prophecies. The sarin attack was motivated partly by an attempt to disrupt police investigations into the group’s illegal activities, and partly by a desire to plunge society into chaos in accordance with its distorted apocalyptic ideology.

In the aftermath, the Japanese government launched an unprecedented crackdown. Aum Shinrikyō facilities were raided and shut down, and its leadership, including Asahara, was arrested. After years of trials, Asahara and several senior members were sentenced to death. In July 2018, the Japanese government carried out the executions in stages, with a total of 13 death row inmates, including Asahara, put to death, bringing a legal conclusion to a case that had spanned more than two decades.

Nevertheless, the impact of the attack did not end with the verdicts and executions. The Tokyo subway sarin incident profoundly reshaped Japan’s understanding of terrorism and cult-related threats, prompting the government to reexamine the religious corporation system, strengthen oversight of suspicious groups, and significantly enhance security and emergency response measures in public transportation. On a broader social level, the tragedy sparked long-term reflection on issues such as why highly educated individuals can still be drawn into extremist ideologies, and how isolation and the search for spiritual belonging manifest in modern society.

Following the incident, novelist Haruki Murakami conducted extensive interviews with victims and some perpetrators, producing works such as Underground, which explore the collective psychology and human fractures underlying the tragedy through personal narratives. For this reason, the Tokyo subway sarin attack is not merely remembered as an act of terrorism, but as a lasting historical scar that continues to shape Japan’s reflection on modernity, belief, authority, and the dangers of collective blind obedience.