The man behind an unprecedented string of heinous crimes in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s who was executed Friday grew up partially blind and had to struggle with various setbacks in his childhood in aspiring to make something of his life.Formerly an acupuncturist, Shoko Asahara, who was 63, founded a new religious sect, AUM Shinrikyo, and eventually became its revered guru. The group attracted tens of thousands of followers in Japan, including many highly educated young people, and branched out overseas into countries including Russia.Asahara, whose real name was Chizuo Matsumoto, was born …READ FULL ARTICLE
