Japan Supreme Court upholds death penalty

Japan's Supreme Court Monday upheld the death sentence of a member of the AUM Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) cult in the 1994-1995 deadly nerve gas attacks.The court's ruling let stand the 2002 death sentence of senior member Seiicho Endo, 51, bringing to a close 16 years of investigations and trials against the group in the sarin gas attacks in Matsumoto City in June 1994 and the Tokyo subway system in March 1995.The attacks killed more than 20 people and left thousands more ill, Kyodo News reported.Endo, a veterinarian and virologist, was given the death penalty by lower courts for playing a central role in the attacks, Kyodo said.Including Endo, 11 former AUM members are currently awaiting execution, including its 56-year-old founder, Shoko Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, Japan Times reported.Lawyers for Endo had claimed their client did not execute the attacks or lead them and that he was brainwashed by Asahara.