Takahashi kept cult leader's teachings in his bag

Katsuya Takahashi, arrested June 15 for his part in Aum Shinrikyo's deadly sarin gas attack in Tokyo in 1995, had more than 10 books published by the doomsday cult in his possession when he was caught.

He also had cassette recordings of teachings by Aum guru Chizuo Matsumoto and photos of the bearded leader, who is one of 13 cultists on death row.

Takahashi, 54, was the last of the Aum Shinrikyo fugitives still sought by the police.

Investigators believe Takahashi put his books in a wheeled bag bought from a supermarket in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, when he fled from a dormitory of a construction company in the city on June 4.

Aside from works published by the cult, his collection included about 15 other books dealing with religion.

"Initiation," written by Matsumoto, 57, also known as Shoko Asahara, was part of the collection, Tokyo police said.

Investigators with the Metropolitan Police Department in Tokyo suspect that Takahashi still follows the precepts of the cult after his 17 years on the run.

Takahashi is suspected of transporting an Aum member to a railway station in the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system that left 13 people dead and thousands sickened.

"As I have various thoughts, I cannot express them in one word," police quoted him as saying in custody.

"It is not wrong that I gave trouble to society. Everything is attributable to my lack of virtue."

Takahashi told the police that he placed the bag containing his books, cassette tapes and photos in a rental locker at the west exit of JR Tsurumi Station on June 6 or 7. The police published a photograph of the bag on June 8, so Takahashi left it where it was.

From June 4, he stayed in video shops, which have booths for personal use, and manga cafes in Tsurumi Ward in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, and areas in and around the Kamata and Omori districts in Ota Ward, Tokyo.

All of the video shops and the manga cafes are near four consecutive stations along the JR Keihin-Tohoku Line. Takahashi also owned a "Suica," an IC card for boarding JR trains, and police suspect he may have been using the railway line to move around.

Takahashi was able to take showers and monitor newspaper and television reports about him at the establishments. When he was arrested, he had about 220,000 yen (about $2,795) in his wallet and 4.36 million yen in his bag.