"The Human Toll"
June 27, 1994. It was a normal summer night in Matsumoto until the nerve gas arrived. One minute the Kounos were watching TV in their living room; the next minute the dogs were dead and Sumiko was in a coma. March 20, 1995. A hundred miles away, five Tokyo subway trains filled with the same gasÑsarinÑduring the morning commute, sending thousands to the hospital and killing 12. The blame quickly settled on Aum Shinrikyo, a doomsday cult that had already tried and failed to cause mass casualties with anthrax and botulinum. The Matsumoto release had been their first success.
