It is 1995 in Tokyo, and the Japanese new religious movement and doomsday cult オウム真理教 (ōmu shinrikyō), Aum Shinrikyo, has been preliminarily identified as posing a potential terrorist threat to national security. Having attracted controversy since the late 1980s, the full scope of the cult’s activities is yet unknown, but it is suspected of involvement in weapons and biochemical manufacturing and may be implicated in a number of isolated attacks and attack attempts on civilians prior to 1995. Whether Aum Shinrinkyo is or is not culpable in these instances is still in question, and relevant information is extremely limited, but it remains that the Japanese population may be at risk of terrorist attack. And it is not a risk to be taken lightly: cult terrorism poses a danger to all, from specific individuals identified to be in opposition to its motives, to those utilizing public spaces such as the Tokyo subway system… 

Thus, as members of 村山内閣(Murayama naikaku), Japanese PM Tomiichi Murayama’s Cabinet, as well as leaders and other actors within relevant bodies such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the Ministry of Justice/Public Service Intelligence Agency, delegates must explore avenues of gathering evidence and neutralizing the potential threat posed by Aum Shinrikyo to protect the Japanese people. Within this, they must navigate the complexities of serving under one of the first non-Liberal Democratic Party prime ministers in 50 years, the notorious inefficacies of the Ministry of Justice and PSIA, and the continued denial of any illegalities by Aum Shinrikyo leadership. In addition, delegates must consider the stagnation of the Japanese economy as a result of the overspeculation of real estate and stocks—causing significant economic struggles that were further heightened in the first weeks of 1995 when a devastating earthquake struck under Kobe. All things considered, it is up to the cabinet to decide: will the investigation derail, or will they follow this line to the end?