The widow of a subway station employee killed in Tokyo's...

The widow of a subway station employee killed in Tokyo's 1995 subway nerve-gas attack said she wished Shoko Asahara, guru of the Aum doomsday cult, could be hanged many times over. Shizue Takahashi, speaking a day before the verdict in Asahara's trial, also criticised the government for not protecting the public from the cult and for its lack of support for survivors and bereaved relatives. "Those who took lives of others should atone with their own life," said Takahashi, 57, whose husband Kazumasa died after removing packages containing the nerve-gas from a packed train. "I wish he could receive eight death penalties for the murders, three life-in-prison terms for the attempted murders and several other sentences," she told a news conference, referring to Asahara. Takahashi also voiced frustration with the slow pace of the Asahara trial. "The defence took a long, long time just to try to delay the expected death penalty," Takahashi said. "It is time to review criminal court cases. We must carry out speedy court procedures," she said.