Prosecutors on Wednesday demanded the death penalty for a former senior member of the Aum Supreme Truth cult for his alleged involvement in a series of murders committed by the doomsday cult, including the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
Tomomasa Nakagawa, 40, the "doctor" of Aum founder Chizuo Matsumoto, 47, also known as Shoko Asahara, is being tried at the Tokyo District Court on 11 charges, including murder and attempted murder.
Nakagawa has pleaded not guilty, saying he did not know what purpose the sarin nerve gas would be used for in the subway attack.
Prosecutors said Nakagawa played a central role in the attack as a close aide to Matsumoto and was involved in most of the criminal acts committed by the cult.
Prosecutors detailed how Nakagawa allegedly developed the deadly gas with another former senior Aum member, Seiichi Endo, 42, who has appealed his conviction on charges of murder and attempted murder in five cases to a higher court after being sentenced to death in October.
Regarding the June 1994 sarin gas attack in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, prosecutors said it was clear that Nakagawa was well aware of how lethal the gas was, although he claimed sarin was not necessarily fatal.
Prosecutors said Nakagawa was trying to mislead the court by skillfully repeating lies.