Masami Tsuchiya, a former member of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges of murder and attempted murder stemming from a 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway that killed 12, according to the Japan Times (see GSN, Jan. 30).

Japanese prosecutors allege Tsuchiya was one of the main figures in Aum Shinrikyo’s production of sarin and other nerve agents and that he participated in the attack.  Tsuchiya has admitted to developing the nerve agents, but said he was not involved in their use and doubted that he produced the sarin used in the subway incident, according to the Times.  Tsuchiya’s entered his plea yesterday after refusing to do so since his trial began eight years ago (Japan Times, Feb. 4).

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