Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara refused again Thursday to answer questions from his own lawyers, while victims of the cult's crimes called for him to receive the death penalty.
During the day's session at the Tokyo District Court, two victims of the cult's sarin gas attacks and the relative of another addressed the court. Five others submitted written statements.
"Asahara alone should be sentenced to death, to make him realize the seriousness of his sin," said Taro Takimoto, a lawyer who helped some members leave the cult. Cult members tried to murder Takimoto in 1994 by applying liquid sarin to his car.