Tokyo, July 28. (AP): A court in Japan today upheld death sentences for two ex-cult members convicted in a 1995 nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subways that killed 12 people and injured thousands.

The Tokyo High Court rejected the appeals of Toru Toyoda, 36, and Kenichi Hirose, 40, who were sentenced to death by hanging by a lower court in 2000, court spokesman Sadakazu Takagi said.

The two were among five Aum Shinrikyo members who released sarin gas on subway trains on March 21, 1995.

The high court also upheld the Tokyo District Court ruling of life imprisonment for Shigeo Sugimoto, 45, who drove the getaway car for a third attacker.

A total of 13 former cultists have been sentenced to death for the subway gassing, including founder Shoko Asahara, who was sentenced to hang in February for masterminding the assault and about a dozen other crimes linked to the cult.

None of those convicted has been executed yet. The cult has changed its name to Aleph and says it is now harmless. But Japan's intelligence agency says the group uses computer and yoga businesses to expand its membership, remains faithful to Asahara's violent teachings and is still a threat to society.