The top scientist of the cult suspected of unleashing deadly nerve gas on Tokyo subways has admitted the sect made the type of gas used in the attack, news reports said Thursday.
Masami Tsuchiya, arrested last month in a hidden underground room at the cult's headquarters near Mount Fuji, told police the sect made sarin gas last spring, the Yomiuri newspaper and other news reports said.The reported admission - the first of its kind from a member of the Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth) cult - would be a breakthrough for police investigating the March 20 attack that killed 12 people and sickened 5,500.
Tsuchiya, a chemist, is suspected of having led the group's sarin production team. Cult publications describe him as the man in charge of the sect's extensive experiments with chemicals and its research into sarin.
From the outset, the Aum Shinri Kyo cult has been the primary suspect in the gas attack. More than 100 cult members and most of its leaders have been arrested, but none of them on charges related to the attack.
The group has denied any involvement in the attack.