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Around 8 :00 a.m. on March 20, 1995 an extremely toxic gas (sarin) attack,
occurred in coaches of Marunouchi, Chiyoda and Hibiya subway lines operated
by Teito Rapid Transit Authority(TRTA) in Tokyo. The incident killed eleven
passengers and subway employees (as of November 1995) and left many people wounded.
In view of the graveness of the incident, which aimed at an indiscriminate
attack on unspecified masses in a public transportation system, the Ministry
of Transport immediately created "Emergency Countermeasures Headquarters for
Toxic Gas Incident in the TRTA", headed by the Director General of the Railway
Bureau. They also instructed the railway operators to be on full alert and take
information-gathering and other measures to bring the situation under their
control. On the same day the Ministry ordered other transport operators to take
strict precautionary measures such as patrolling facilities to prevent similar
incidents.
Furthermore, railway operators took different measures by their own. They
include installation of surveillance video cameras, strengthened patrolling,
posting of warning notices to passengers, and production of manuals of procedure
for evacuation and rescue operations at the time of emergency and handling of
unidentified items discovered.
From the standpoint of preventing the recurrence of incidents that could
cause fears and threats to the public, the Ministry of Transport will continue
efforts to ensure the safety of passengers through the cooperation of transport
operators and other appropriate organizations.(picture)
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