Matsumoto incident
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2008-06-11T01:24:31Z
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add info regarding Kouno
The '''Matsumoto incident''' was an occurrence of [[sarin]] poisoning that happened in [[Matsumoto, Nagano|Matsumoto]], [[Japan]], in [[Nagano prefecture]], on the evening of [[June 27]] and the morning of [[June 28]], [[1994]].
Seven people were killed and over 200 were harmed by sarin [[gas]] that was released from several sites in the [[Kaichi Heights]] neighborhood. The first calls to emergency officials occurred around 11:00 p.m.; by 4:15 a.m. the following morning, six people had died from the poison. On [[July 3]], officials announced that the toxic agent had been identified as sarin by [[GC/MS]]. After the incident, police focused their investigation on one of the victims, [[Yoshiyuki Kouno]], when they discovered that Kouno had stored a large amount of pesticide in his residence. Kouno was dubbed by the media "the Poison Gas Man" and received hate mail, death threats, and intense legal pressure. After the [[Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway|attack on the Tokyo subway]] in [[1995]], the blame was shifted to the cult [[Aum Shinrikyo]]. Police chief, on behalf of the police department, and media publicly apologized to Kouno.
The Matsumoto incident preceded the better-known [[Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway|attack on the Tokyo subway]] in [[1995]]. Several [[Aum Shinrikyo]] members were found guilty of masterminding both incidents. Combined, the attacks resulted in 19 deaths and thousands of hospitalizations or outpatient treatment.
== See also ==
{{Aum Shinrikyo}}
[[Category:Aum Shinrikyo]]
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in 1994]]
[[Category:Chemical warfare]]
[[Category:1994 in Japan]]
{{Japan-hist-stub}}
{{paramilitary-action-stub}}
[[ja:松本サリン事件]]
[[zh:松本沙林毒氣事件]]