FUKUOKA -- Vandals overnight attacked the home of an academic who vetoed the entry into Kitakyushu University of a former follower of death cult AUM Shinrikyo, police said Saturday.
White paint was spattered over a vehicle parked outside the home of Nobuhiko Kuwano, head of the medical faculty at Kitakyushu University.
Kuwano discovered the vandals' attack early Saturday morning, just one day after he publicly announced he had ordered the former AUM follower's application to enter the university be refused.
Police said the damaged car, which belonged to Kuwano's son, had been parked at 11 p.m. Friday. When Kuwano went outside to collect his newspaper at 7 a.m. on Saturday, he noticed the car had been vandalized.
AUM Shinrikyo unleashed deadly nerve gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system in 1995 and in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, the year before. Its members have admitted to a spate of killings, which they claim are part of the lead-up to Armageddon. AUM founder and guru Shoko Asahara remains detained while being tried on 17 counts of murder and thousands of counts of attempted murder.