Tokyo Subway Victims Still Suffering

The Associated Press/January 28, 1999

TOKYO (AP) -- Most of the survivors of the 1995 nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subways still suffer from physical and psychological injuries, a government survey reported Thursday.

More than 70 percent of the respondents in the survey said they cannot shake off post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychological effects of the gas attack, Kyodo News agency quoted the government report as saying.

The March 1995 attack killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000.

Members of the Aum Shinri Kyo doomsday religious cult have confessed to carrying out the assault. Cult guru Shoko Asahara is on trial for murder in that attack and other crimes.

The survey, released Thursday, was conducted last August by the National Police Agency, which received responses from 1,247 of the 5,300 people questioned, Kyodo said.

The police agency refused to confirm the report.

In replying to the multiple-choice survey, 54 percent of the respondents said they had physical problems, while 57 percent complained of psychological disorders, the Kyodo report said.

The percentage of those who complained of psychological disorders climbed over 72 percent if those who habitually used sleeping pills and alcohol to soothe their nerves were included, the agency said.

Psychological complaints included fear of a repeat attack, flashbacks and bad dreams. The survey also found nearly 14 percent still have fear of taking subways.

On the physical side, the survey found that four out of five people experienced a narrowed field of vision shortly after the March 20 sarin gas incident. Also, 34 percent said their eyes tend to get tired and 26 percent said their eyesight has deteriorated.