Lin Tainan
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Lin Tainan | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 15, 1957 |
| Died | July 26, 2018 (aged 60) |
| Education | Kogakuin University |
| Occupation | Shinrikyo |
| Known for | Matsumoto sarin attack Tokyo subway sarin attack |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Criminal penalty | Death penalty |
Lin Tainan (Japanese: Lin Tainan/はやしやすお Hayashi Yasuo; December 15, 1957 – July 26, 2018) was a Japanese convicted murderer, terrorist and former member of the doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo. He is of Korean descent, and changed his name to Koike Yasuo after taking his wife's surname. He was a former senior cadre of Aum Shinrikyo (Master Zhengwu, deputy minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology).
Lin Tainan graduated from Kogakuin University having previously attended a vocational school. After graduation, Lin Tainan spent three years traveling around the world. In 1987, Lin Tainan joined "Aum Shinkai", the predecessor of Aum Shinrikyo. In 1988, he became a monk at Aum Shinrikyo. Lin Tainan participated in a series of crimes, such as the Matsumoto sarin attack led by Aum Shinrikyo and the Tokyo subway sarin attack. Lin Tainan was arrested on December 3, 1996, in Okinawa Prefecture, after one year and nine months on the run. The media called Lin Tainan a "killing machine".[1][2]
On July 26, 2018, Tainan Lin was hanged at the Miyagi Prefecture Criminal Office in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture; the same day as Kenichi Hirose, Kazaki Okazaki, Masato Yokoyama, Satoru Hatamoto, and Hiroshi Toyodaw.[3][4]
Lin Tainan has the same surname as Ikuo Hayashi, another Aum Shinrikyo-related criminal, but they are unrelated.
Early years
On December 15, 1957, Lin Tainan was born in Shibuya District, Tokyo (or Kodaira, Tokyo; there are different opinions). He was the second son in his family. Tae-man's family had immigrated to Japan from the Korean Peninsula. Lin Tainan's grandfather immigrated to Japan from the Korean Peninsula before World War II and worked in the local military association. Lin Tainan's grandmother was a key surveillance target of the Japanese Public Security Investigation Agency because she was suspected of helping North Korea's secret workshop. Lin Tainan's father was an employee of the Japan National Railways. In 1959, when Lin Tainan was two years old, he was naturalized. When Lin Tainan was about to enter high school, he learned from the household registration transcript that his father was originally a Korean.[5][6] Due to Japanese society at that time, naturalized Koreans and prejudice against American immigrants made Lin Tainan feel uncomfortable.
In 1974, he dropped out of the strict Kugayama High School of Kogakuin University. He entered Tokyo Metropolitan Tachikawa High School for part-time study, during which he obtained an electrical engineer qualification certificate. After graduation, Lin Tainan was admitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering at the kogakuin University. During college, Lin Tainan had top grades and researched artificial intelligence. However, at the age of 20, Lin Tainan's father died. His father's death prompted him to consider spiritual matters.[5]
Similar to Aum Shinrikyo
After graduating from vocational school in 1983, Lin Tainan chose to wait to find a job. He spent three years traveling around the world. During this period, Lin Tainan experienced Indigenous North American culture and was disgusted with the local racism. He also smoked cannabis while traveling in Mexico. It is also reported that he had a favorable impression of India. During this three-year trip, Lin Tainan frequently contacted his mother because he was worried about her, as she lived alone.[5][7]
Shortly after returning to Japan from the trip, Lin Tainan began to feel unwell. He went to the hospital for examination but could not find the cause. At the same time, he and his girlfriend broke up. All this made Lin Tainan mentally unstable. During this period, Lin Tainan, who was in a depressed mood, began to read the books of Asahara Shoko, the leader of Aum Shinrikyo (then called "Aum Shinkai") and gradually got closer to Shoko Asahara's predecessor, Aum Shinkai. In 1987, Lin Tainan joined the Aum Fairy Society. In 1988, Lin Tainan quit his job and became a monk in the religious order, reorganized into Aum Shinrikyo.[1][5]