TOKYO -- Japan kicked off the most dramatic trials in its modern history Monday, bringing to court the first of more than a hundred members of a doomsday cult on charges related to gas attacks, murders and kidnappings.


Tense court officials with metal detectors scrutinized the belongings of people entering Tokyo District Court as Kumi Nebuka, a clerk at a hospital operated by the Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) cult, was ushered into the dock.


She was charged with a relatively minor offence -- harboring a fugitive wanted on a kidnapping charge.


Others will face charges of murder and attempted murder related to the sarin nerve gas attack in March that killed 11 people and made over 5,500 ill, stunning Japan and shaking confidence in its relatively crime-free society.


Suspects will also go on trial for incidents including a separate sarin attack which killed seven people in a mountain resort town last year and two cases of kidnapping and suspected murder of people trying to help Aum defectors.


The trials will reach a climax on Oct. 26, when bearded guru Shoko Asahara, 40, makes his first court appearance.


The trials are being held in an atmosphere of public anxiety, with police concerned they might spark off violent attacks.


The biggest fear is that a handful of Aum followers still at large might make a desperate attempt to rescue their guru, or else stage attacks as protest or intimidation.


Authorities say they have taken special security measures against any attacks on the homes of presiding judges.


Concerns over possible retribution have also dogged attempts to get proper representation for the Aum members -- many lawyers are reluctant to take up an Aum case because of fears of public harassment, and dozens of the accused have still not found counsels to defend them.