Zero Hour

During a busy rush-hour morning, Tokyo’s elaborate underground Metro system is packed with commuters. All are unaware that it is about to become ground zero for an attempted mass murder. The attackers, members of a Japanese religious cult, Aum Shinrykio – or Aum the Supreme Truth - release the nerve agent Sarin in five separate train cars. Sarin is a chemical that, in its purest form, is 26 times more lethal than cyanide. This event marks the first time a weapon of mass destruction is deployed in an act of terror. For the group behind it, the potential murder of thousands is no mere attempt to gain notice – it is a religious vendetta…a spiritual act. ZERO HOUR: TERROR IN TOKYO reconstructs minute by minute the events from 07:46 to 08:46 as five men set out to poison the Tokyo Metro system. In doing so it reveals the bizarre motivations that led to the murder and permanent injury of so many innocent people. It uncovers a carefully coordinated plan of mass, indiscriminate killing. The episode analyzes both the structure and psychology of Aum as a movement. It offers personal testimonies of individuals caught up in events beyond their control – victims whose lives were irrevocably changed by the terrible effects of the Sarin as well as cult members who, until the attacks, were devout followers of Aum’s guru, Asahara.