entertainment

Ken Ishiguro to star as wrongly accused in drama about sarin gas attack in Matsumoto

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Actor Ken Ishiguro, 43, will star as Yoshiyuki Kono in Fuji TV’s upcoming drama about the 1994 sarin gas attack in Matsumoto City of Nagano prefecture that claimed the lives of 8 people and hospitalized 200 more. Kono’s late wife will be played by actress Yuki Matsushita, 40.

Sarin gas was released in several locations in Matsumoto City on the evening of June 27, 1994. By the next morning, 6 people had died and the gas was identified as sarin gas on July 3.

Kono was considered a suspect by police after they found a large quantity of pesticides at his home. While sarin cannot be manufactured from pesticides, the media got wind that he may have been involved and dubbed him "the Poison Gas Man," and Kono subsequently received anonymous hate mail and death threats.

After the infamous sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in March 1995, blame for the 1994 attack was shifted to the cult Aum Shinkiryo. The police chief, on behalf of the police department and media, publicly apologized to Kono.

The upcoming drama, tentatively titled “Jitsuroku – Matsumoto sarin jiken – tsuma yo, haha yo, hannin to “utagawareta” kazoku tatakai to kizuna no 15 nen” focuses on the battles Kono faced after the gas attack. The producer said: “I thought now, nearly 15 years on from the incident, would be a good time to discuss it and to get to the heart of the incident, answering questions like why was Kono a suspect, and how did he go about fighting the accusations.”

The drama will air on Fuji TV on June 26 at 9 p.m.

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After the infamous sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in March 1995, blame for the 1994 attack was shifted to the cult Aum Shinkiryo. The police chief, on behalf of the police department and media, publicly apologized to Kono.

The article makes it sound like the police immediately apologized when Aum was identified... Kono didn't receive an apology from the police until 2002.

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Did the media ever apologize, or did he only cops apologize on their behalf, seven years after the fact?

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The media, beginning with the Shinano Mainichi Shimbun, apologized fairly quickly since they would have been liable for libel. I believe Kono received a fairly substantial settlement from AUM after their land and buildings were confiscated by the state and sold.

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Just a little background to this case. The actual gas attack in Matsumoto was carried out by Aum with the aim of disrupting a court case against it. The target of the gas attack was a dormitory complex used by court officials (judges) and their families. I think Aum assumed that killing/disabling the judge handling the case would solve their problems (what a bunch of nutjobs). Anyway, Aum used a modified truck to deliver the gas. Apparently the truck was fitted with some sort of blower which dispersed the gas in the general area of the dormitory complex. The rest is history.

This case was one of the biggest incidents of trial by media in modern Japan. Everybody in the media from NHK down jumped on this story and had Mr. Kono as a mad scientist figure who was mixing up death and destruction in his garage. Even worse, his wife was actually a gassing victim and ended up in a coma (I think she died last year without regaining consciousness). This of course raises a question about this drama. Namely, while the role of the female lead (his wife) be simply just a case of her lying in a vegitative state?

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There was a Japanese film made several years ago about this very thing- quite a good film too - I wish I could remember the title. The wife was present through interrogation flashbacks and showing what actually happened that night.

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Maria - it was "Nippon no Kuroi Natsu - Enzai" (日本の黒い夏─冤罪).

It was indeed a good movie, and it cast the police in a rather bad light.

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