Editing Shoko Asahara (section)

===Sakamoto family murder===
{{Main|Sakamoto family murder}}
In October 1989, [[Tokyo Broadcasting System Television]] (TBS) taped an interview with 33-year-old Tsutsumi Sakamoto, a lawyer working on a [[class action]] lawsuit against Aum Shinrikyo, regarding his anti-Aum efforts. However, the network secretly showed a video of the interview to Aum members without Sakamoto's knowledge, intentionally breaking its [[protection of sources]]. Aum officials then pressured TBS to cancel the planned broadcast of the interview.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/04/03/Japan-TV-network-fights-ethics-charges/3444828507600/|title=Japan TV network fights ethics charges|publisher=UPI|access-date=2018-07-06|language=en}}</ref><ref>"Ex-TBS affiliate staff showed video to Aum", ''Jiji Press Ticker Service'' (Tokyo), 27 March 1996.</ref> Several days later, on November 3, 1989, several Aum Shinrikyo members, including [[Hideo Murai]], chief scientist, Satoro Hashimoto, a [[martial arts]] master, Tomomasa Nakagawa and [[Kazuaki Okazaki]] drove to [[Yokohama]], where Sakamoto lived. They carried a pouch with fourteen [[Hypodermic needle|hypodermic needles]] and a supply of [[potassium chloride]]. According to court testimony provided by the perpetrators later, they planned to use the chemical substance to [[Kidnapping|kidnap]] Sakamoto from Yokohama's [[Shinkansen]] train station, but, contrary to expectations, he did not show up—it was a holiday (''Bunka no hi'', or "[[Culture Day]]"), so he slept in with his family at home.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Ian|last=Reader|title=Scholarship, Aum Shinrikyô, and Academic Integrity|journal=Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions|volume=3|number=2|date=April 2000|page=370|doi=10.1525/nr.2000.3.2.368|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=death>{{cite news|title=Japan Sect's Role in Murder Case Emerges, Prompting Outcry|first=Nicholas D.|last=Kristof|date=March 14, 1996|work=The New York Times|page=A9}}</ref>

At 3 a.m. on November 5, the group entered Sakamoto's apartment through an unlocked door. Tsutsumi Sakamoto was struck on the head with a hammer, injected with [[potassium chloride]], and strangled.<ref>Yomiuri Shimbun, "Asahara 'justified' murder of infant", ''The Daily Yomiuri'' (Tokyo), September 14, 1995.</ref> His 29-year-old wife, Satoko Sakamoto (坂本都子 ''Sakamoto Satoko'') was beaten and injected with potassium chloride.<ref>Yomiuri Shimbun, "Cultists killed baby first, police say", ''The Daily Yomiuri'' (Tokyo), September 4, 1995.</ref> Their 14-month-old infant son Tatsuhiko Sakamoto (坂本竜彦 ''Sakamoto Tatsuhiko'') was injected with the potassium chloride and then his face was covered with a cloth. The family's remains were placed in metal drums and hidden in three separate rural areas in three different prefectures (Tsutsumi in [[Niigata Prefecture|Niigata]], Satoko in [[Toyama Prefecture|Toyama]], and Tatsuhiko in [[Nagano Prefecture|Nagano]]) so that in case the bodies were uncovered, police might not link the three incidents. Their bed sheets were burned and the tools were dropped in the ocean. The victims' teeth were smashed [[Forensic dentistry|to prevent identification]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/03/14/national/history/cult-attraction-aum-shinrikyos-power-persuasion/#.XoUEJITTVhE|title=Cult attraction: Aum Shinrikyo's power of persuasion|date=March 14, 2015}}</ref> Their bodies were not found until the perpetrators revealed the locations after they were captured in connection with the [[Tokyo subway sarin attack|1995 Tokyo subway attack]]. By the time police searched the areas in which the victims were placed, their bodies were reduced to bones.<ref>"Japanese police: Bodies are Sakamotos", ''United International Press'', September 6, 1995.</ref> TBS kept the showing of the video secret until March 25, 1996. This led to strong criticism that it contributed to the murder.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Japan TV network fights ethics charges |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/04/03/Japan-TV-network-fights-ethics-charges/3444828507600/ |access-date=2018-07-06 |work=UPI |language=en}}</ref>