Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Aum Shinrikyo cult that carried out a deadly sarin attack on Tokyo’s subway in 1995, was executed on Friday, local media reported.
The justice ministry would not immediately confirm that Asahara had been hanged, nor reports that several other cult members would also be put to death Friday.
Asahara and 12 of his followers have been on death row for over a decade for the shocking 1995 chemical attack that killed 13 people and injured thousands more.
His hanging was the first execution in connection with the March 20, 1995 attack which shocked the world and prompted a massive crackdown on the cult.
