TOKYO, June 18 (Kyodo) - The number of survivors of the 1995 AUM Shinrikyo cult gas attack on the Tokyo subway who show signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased since 1998, according to a National Police Agency (NPA) survey released Monday.
In the poll of 837 people conducted in March 2000, the NPA posed nine questions related to PTSD and the deadly attack. More respondents answered positively to six of the nine than in the previous survey in May 1998, the NPA said.
There were 388 victims who said they are obsessed by fear of a similar incident, up 92, while 321, up 106, said it was painful to hear or see anything reminding them of the March 20, 1995 incident.
In the random attack, AUM cultists released sarin gas in five subway trains, killing 12 people and injuring more than 5,000 people.
In the latest survey, 364 reported having flashbacks. The NPA said the figure was down by 48, but still accounted for 43.4% of the respondents.
The poll results were announced following concerns about psychological care for children involved in a school massacre in Osaka Prefecture on June 8.
In the attack at Ikeda Elementary School, eight children were stabbed to death by a knife-wielding man. The number of dead was the largest for a single crime since the subway attack, the NPA said earlier.
AP-NY-06-18-01 0553EDT
Copyright 2001 The Kyodo News Service.