Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2008, Page 35
Conflict Between Aum Critics and Human-Rights Advocates
in Japan
Yoshihide Sakurai, Ph.D.
Hokkaido University
Abstract
Japanese society has experienced two phases of cult controversy over the
past decade. The public reacted to the Aum incidents in the 1990s with
avoidance, declining belief in religion, and moral revulsion. As a result,
criticism of cults in the mass media by academics and laypersons grew
markedly. However, excessive criticism of cult members who had not faced
criminal charges provoked a human-rights backlash in Japan. Human-rights
advocates and intellectuals who were protective of Aum (which had changed
its name to Aleph) declared cults to be ―religious minorities‖ and ―ordinary
people‖ hence, they should not be subjected to discrimination. The refusal
by some municipalities to permit residence to Aum members or entrance of
their children into school was judged unconstitutional by courts. Although
security police have kept Aleph under surveillance and have sought to
prevent them from recruiting new members and engaging in illegal fund-
raising, the Japanese people remain unconvinced that the approximately
1,500 members of Aleph do not still pose a threat. This study examines the
disparity between Japanese intellectuals‘ arguments in support of Aleph and
the common-sense views of ordinary people concerning recent cult
controversies by examining chronological data of the Aum/Aleph movement
and social responses to it.
The decade following the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system witnessed a
shift in the way the cult issue was handled as a social problem in Japan. In the period
between 1995 and 2000, the Japanese public reacted defensively toward any religious
group with which it had come into conflict, most notably against the Aum Supreme Truth
Cult (Lifton, 1999 Reader, 2002 Watanabe, 1998). Irrespective of how social conformity
and civil order are maintained in Japanese society, situations provoking panicked reactions
against outsiders or groups that may disrupt the social order certainly emerged in this
period. The media also fueled negative impressions, as in the phrases ―‗cults‘ are scary‖ and
―mind control can manipulate you like a slave‖ (Kimiaki, 1995). Fear-mongers exploited and
stoked uneasy feelings. Specific measures were taken against religious groups deemed
―cults,‖ such as the Unification Church (known for the fraudulent sales of spiritual goods),
Three Practices of Dharmic Flower (known for fortunetelling by the soles of the feet), and
the Life Space Group (known for the case of mummified bodies). As with the Aum cult,
religiously motivated donations and monetary offerings, the sales of spiritual goods, and the
abuse of fellow members and followers were punished as illegal activities.
Three Practices of Dharmic Flower and Life Space Group leaders declared bankruptcy and
their followers dispersed yet other groups, such as the Unification Church, still flourish as
religious corporations. The Aum leader was convicted and jailed, the organization‘s license
was revoked, the group declared bankruptcy, and the authorities disposed of its assets,
using the proceeds to compensate its victims. Yet, the group, now renamed ―Aleph,‖ still
continues its activities as a religious organization. The court was able to punish the
members who had been directly involved in illegal activities of the group, but it could not
punish the religious entity that had spawned those illegal activities. As a result, the problem
Conflict Between Aum Critics and Human-Rights Advocates
in Japan
Yoshihide Sakurai, Ph.D.
Hokkaido University
Abstract
Japanese society has experienced two phases of cult controversy over the
past decade. The public reacted to the Aum incidents in the 1990s with
avoidance, declining belief in religion, and moral revulsion. As a result,
criticism of cults in the mass media by academics and laypersons grew
markedly. However, excessive criticism of cult members who had not faced
criminal charges provoked a human-rights backlash in Japan. Human-rights
advocates and intellectuals who were protective of Aum (which had changed
its name to Aleph) declared cults to be ―religious minorities‖ and ―ordinary
people‖ hence, they should not be subjected to discrimination. The refusal
by some municipalities to permit residence to Aum members or entrance of
their children into school was judged unconstitutional by courts. Although
security police have kept Aleph under surveillance and have sought to
prevent them from recruiting new members and engaging in illegal fund-
raising, the Japanese people remain unconvinced that the approximately
1,500 members of Aleph do not still pose a threat. This study examines the
disparity between Japanese intellectuals‘ arguments in support of Aleph and
the common-sense views of ordinary people concerning recent cult
controversies by examining chronological data of the Aum/Aleph movement
and social responses to it.
The decade following the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system witnessed a
shift in the way the cult issue was handled as a social problem in Japan. In the period
between 1995 and 2000, the Japanese public reacted defensively toward any religious
group with which it had come into conflict, most notably against the Aum Supreme Truth
Cult (Lifton, 1999 Reader, 2002 Watanabe, 1998). Irrespective of how social conformity
and civil order are maintained in Japanese society, situations provoking panicked reactions
against outsiders or groups that may disrupt the social order certainly emerged in this
period. The media also fueled negative impressions, as in the phrases ―‗cults‘ are scary‖ and
―mind control can manipulate you like a slave‖ (Kimiaki, 1995). Fear-mongers exploited and
stoked uneasy feelings. Specific measures were taken against religious groups deemed
―cults,‖ such as the Unification Church (known for the fraudulent sales of spiritual goods),
Three Practices of Dharmic Flower (known for fortunetelling by the soles of the feet), and
the Life Space Group (known for the case of mummified bodies). As with the Aum cult,
religiously motivated donations and monetary offerings, the sales of spiritual goods, and the
abuse of fellow members and followers were punished as illegal activities.
Three Practices of Dharmic Flower and Life Space Group leaders declared bankruptcy and
their followers dispersed yet other groups, such as the Unification Church, still flourish as
religious corporations. The Aum leader was convicted and jailed, the organization‘s license
was revoked, the group declared bankruptcy, and the authorities disposed of its assets,
using the proceeds to compensate its victims. Yet, the group, now renamed ―Aleph,‖ still
continues its activities as a religious organization. The court was able to punish the
members who had been directly involved in illegal activities of the group, but it could not
punish the religious entity that had spawned those illegal activities. As a result, the problem
