Aum Shinrikyo and weapons of mass destruction
| Weapons of mass destruction |
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| Non-state |
| Biological weapons by country |
| Chemical weapons by country |
| Nuclear weapons by country |
| Proliferation |
| Treaties |
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Aum Shinrikyo, a Japanese new religious movement and doomsday cult, carried out multiple fatal chemical terrorist attacks, attempted bioterrorist attacks, and showed preliminary interest in nuclear terrorism during the 1990s.
Aum's chemical attacks remain the most significant by a violent non-state actor (VNSA). The 1994 Matsumoto sarin attack and 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack were the first lethal non-state actor attacks to use nerve agents, and the group also carried out the first known attacks using VX in 1994 assassination attempts.
Aum also operated the most extensive biological weapons program by a VNSA ever discovered. Aum considered a range of agents, but only seriously attempted to obtain and disperse Bacillus anthracis and botulinum toxin, the causative agents of anthrax and botulism. With the 2001 anthrax attacks, it comprises the only attempts to use anthrax as a weapon not attributed to a state program.
Aum Shinrikyo member Kiyohide Hayakawa expressed interest in acquiring or purchasing nuclear weapons from the post-Soviet states, and received multiple sale offers as low as US$15 million.