The 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system by the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult was a turning point for the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, according to Katsumi Nakamura, who led decontamination work at a subway station following the attack.
Nakamura, 65, a former instructor at the Ground SDF Chemical School, said that "measures have progressed" after Japan faced the threat of chemical terrorism 30 years ago, but warned that "a sense of crisis is fading."
Nakamura was at a loss for words at the sight of the devastation after entering Tsukiji Station of the then Teito Rapid Transit Authority, now Tokyo Metro, on March 20, 1995, the day of the attack.
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