Can extremism gain ground in Japan?

Earning money is usually the overriding desire of most Japanese citizens. The same citizens pay little attention to religion and spirituality. The Japanese consider religion to be a purely personal affair.

This is exactly why the Japanese government does not have statistics about the followers of each religion. The Japanese citizens are not interested in holding any religious rituals either. In most cases, the Japanese prefer work to religion.

However, some Japanese citizens are trying to buck this general trend. These citizens try to find a spiritual refuge from this materialistic life. Some religious figures played an important role in this regard in order to attract a large number of Japanese citizens to religion. Nevertheless, in doing this, the same figures sought to achieve evil goals.

Japan was not far from the attention of modern religious institutions. Institutions backed by suspicious states, such as Iran, had shown increasing interest in the Asian state. They worked to spread distorted Islamic ideas in this country. 

Efforts by these institutions portend the emergence of extremist and terrorist groups in Japan. The question now is: is Japan a fertile ground for the emergence of these groups? Will the Japanese people accept these ideas?

In this report, al-Marjie will be trying to answer these questions. But to do this, it has to dwell on the history of extremist groups in Japan. The groups included the following:

Aum Shinrikyo … Spirituality as an entrance to terrorism

The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo is a most outstanding example for the use of spirituality in recruiting individuals in modern Japanese history. The group is also known by the names Aleph and Aum. It is one of the most radical groups in Japan. It acquired international notoriety in 1995 when it staged terrorist attacks. Five of the group's members carried out the deadly Tokyo subway Sarin attack. The attack left 13 people dead and thousands of others injured.

Aum Shinrikyo, which in English means "Supreme Truth", started as a spiritual group in the 1980s. The group depended on a mix of Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity to draw in recruits to it. It considered itself as a force against materialism. The group's founder Shoko Asahara claimed to be the most enlightened person in the world since Buddha. He claimed later to be the Messiah. His group said it would be the only group immune from punishment in the afterworld.

This group was officially recognized as a religious group in 1989. It promised Japanese youth that its membership would open the door for a spiritual life free from the difficulties of modern life. This was why some Japanese youth joined it, in their bid to escape the problems of modern life in Japan.

Around 100,000 people joined Aum Shinrikyo, both from inside and outside Japan. The group contained a large number of university graduates. They met at a huge compound near Mount Fuji to learn the teachings of the new group. The same compound contained a huge weapons arsenal, including Sarin which was developed by the Nazis and was used by the group in the Tokyo subway attack.

This caused a radical change in relations between Aum Shinrikyo and the Japanese government. The government outlawed the group and labeled it as "terrorist". It also arrested several group members and sent them to court. Shoko Asahara was executed in July 2018.

Japanese Red Army … Cross-border Japanese violence

Fusako Shigenobu founded this organization. It started operating in 1965. It was basically characterized as a secret organization. Nonetheless, it appeared to the world for the first time in August 1969, after breaking away from the Japanese communists. The two sides kept fighting each other until the end of the same year.

The Red Army started carrying out armed attacks in September 1969 in Osaka by hijacking a number of planes owned by the Japanese national carrier, Japan Airlines. One of the hijacked planes had 129 people on board. An armed battle then ensued, causing 14 army militants to be killed.

The army was not huge in size. Nevertheless, it was capable of effecting deep influence, both inside and outside Japan. The army tried once to occupy the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur. It also tried to kidnap the French ambassador in Hague in 1974.

The members of the army believed in the importance of fighting world imperialism, especially American "hegemony" over world affairs. They rejected US control over Japan. The army's head was arrested. However, the army succeeded in striking partnerships with a number of Japan's leftist parties.

In 2001, the army disbanded itself. It said it would pursue peaceful struggle, renouncing its violent past.

These were the most important radical organizations in Japan, despite the presence of many others. Both groups depended on spiritual ideas to appeal to their members. However, the demise of these organizations does not mean that their influence will die quickly.

This opens the door for the potential emergence of other similar organizations in the future. Some of these organizations can act in similar fashion to appeal to Japanese youth.