Shoko Asahara (麻原 彰晃), the founder of Aum Shinrikyo, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto (松本智津夫), was ultimately responsible for ordering cult members to release the nerve gas into Tokyo subway trains.
From Japanese Times
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a special appeal filed by lawyers for Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, finalizing the death sentence for the man who masterminded the cult's horrific nerve gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system in 1995.
The decision by the top court's Third Petty Bench, led by Justice Yukio Horigome, concludes the trial of the 51-year-old mass murderer that ran for more than a decade. Asahara was initially sentenced to death in 2004 for his role in 13 crimes, including the subway sarin attacks, which killed 12 people and injured some 5,500.
