The Aum Shinrikyo Thread

Additionally, the agency has submitted a request to a Justice Ministry commission to extend an order that restricts Aleph's activities, including the use of its facilities and acceptance of donations. It marks the sixth consecutive request in this regard. The current order, for six months, is set to expire on Sept. 20. And in an unprecedented move, the agency sought to prohibit Aleph from acquiring or leasing new facilities in 12 prefectures, including Hokkaido, Saitama and Chiba. As of April 2025, the group operated around 20 facilities nationwide and had an estimated 1,190 followers, according to the PSIA. In its latest request, the agency for the first time listed the son, along with another individual, as leaders of Aleph. The announcement comes on the heels of the discovery in April of tens of millions of yen in cash hidden in an apartment in Saitama Prefecture where Matsumoto's widow and second son lived. The series of crackdown efforts is being carried out under legislation targeting organizations responsible for indiscriminate mass murder, a law intended to keep Aum Shinrikyo's successors under surveillance.

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In the first trial, the Tokyo District Court ordered the government to hand over the remains to the daughter, a decision the state subsequently appealed. During the appeal, the government argued that revealing the location of the remains could lead to their becoming a "sacred site" for Aum followers and could encourage the activities of successor groups, while the daughter's side maintained that the remains would not be handed over to the cult. In its ruling on February 5th, the Tokyo High Court stated that "the danger posed by Aum Shinrikyo and its successor groups has not been eliminated," noting that if the remains were to leak outside, they could be used as a powerful source of attraction for the group, posing a serious threat to public safety and social order.

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