Victims of 1995 Tokyo subway nerve gas attack still suffering aftereffects: survey

The Mainichi, Japan/March 5, 2025

Tokyo -- About 60% of victims in the March 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system had the persisting condition of their "eyes getting tired easily" as of 2023, according to a nonprofit group's survey.

It is believed that victims are still suffering from aftereffects of the sarin gas incident by the Aum Shinrikyo cult at rates similar to five years after the attack. The findings were compiled by the Recovery Support Center, a nonprofit group that supports victims of the attack, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the incident on March 20. The latest survey was conducted between September and November 2023, and received responses from 195 people.

The nonprofit was established in 2001, and volunteer doctors have continued to provide free medical examinations to victims. After the first survey was conducted by volunteer doctors in 2000, the group has continued to ascertain the state of victims. In the latest analysis, the group compared the results of six surveys: five surveys every five years between 2000 and 2020, and one in 2023.

In 2023, 28 years after the incident, 59.5% of the respondents reported "eyes get tired easily" as a symptom. This figure was 61.4% in 2000, and has remained around 60% since.

The percentage of respondents who said their "eyes get blurry and it becomes difficult to see" was 59.0% in 2023. In 2005, this percentage was 55.3%, and has since remained around 50%.

Immediately after the attack, many of the victims were found to have constricted pupils, which the nonprofit believes is linked to the lingering effects.

Furthermore, physical symptoms reported in 2023 included "getting tired easily" at 44.1% and "sluggishness" at 38.5%, with the percentages remaining almost unchanged since 2000. "Numbness in the hands and legs" was experienced by 26.7%, and "pain of unknown origin that travels throughout the body" was felt by 11.3%.

Both eye and body symptoms could also be affected by aging.

Regarding psychological symptoms, "difficulty sleeping" was reported by 17.9% in 2000, and this increased to 26.7% in 2023. The proportion of respondents who "cannot visit subways or the crime scenes" was 17.4%, and those who "suddenly recall the incident in vivid detail" stood at 15.9%.

The nonprofit also asked detailed questions to examine post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which revealed a high probability of the disorder in 24.1% of the respondents.

Shinichi Ishimatsu, 65, director of St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo's Chuo Ward and a member of the nonprofit's board of directors who continues to examine victims, noted, "The fact that a certain percentage of the victims are still suffering from symptoms suggests that the aftereffects of the sarin nerve gas attack have continued to persist."

(Japanese original by Shotaro Kinoshita, Tokyo City News Department)

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