Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 42
chose to act as it did and why/how the Aum Shinrikyo teachings are misguided. Instead,
many religious organizations emphasized internally and externally that their organizations
were completely different from Aum Shinrikyo. Yet few religious organizations thought to
use the Aum Shinrikyo case as a lesson and to seek ways to help or save, in the real sense
of the word, vulnerable people living and suffering in present day society.
The Nichiren (Buddhist) religion, the Soto (Buddhist) religion and some Christian
organizations produced pamphlets and other reading materials about cult problems and in
doing so raised social concern. They also initiated counseling services in an effort to help
cult believers and their family members suffering from cult problems. However, since many
religious organizations were busy with their own organizational management, few had the
time to address the problem of cults in their main organizational agendas.
Court Judgments Following the Tokyo Metropolitan Subway Sarin Gas Incident
Based on the conclusions of investigations on Aum Shinrikyo conducted by police and
prosecutors after March 1995, the competent authorities of the Tokyo Metropolitan
government made an appeal requesting the dissolution of the Aum Shinrikyo as a religious
corporation. That request was approved by the Tokyo District Court on 30 October 1995,
the Tokyo High Court on 19 December 1995, and the Supreme Court on 30 January 1996.
Accordingly, it was determined that the Aum Shinrikyo should be dissolved as a religious
corporation. However, during the one-year period it took for the dissolution, Aum Shinrikyo
transferred the name of ownership on almost all of its property holdings and sold its
property or otherwise hid its assets. Less than 30 percent of the compensation money
awarded to the victims and families of the deceased in the Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo
subway system has been paid to date. However, it is expected that the victims will receive
additional monetary compensation following the enactment of a new law in December 1999.
According to this law, property held by organizations or individuals affiliated with Aum
Shinrikyo may be presumed to be the property of Aum Shinrikyo.
About 200 Aum Shinrikyo believers were arrested and indicted on criminal charges for
committing various unlawful acts. Of those 200, two members were sentenced to death for
the Sarin incident and the slaying of Attorney Sakamoto, his wife, and child. (The two
persons are currently appealing the case.) In the future, several other persons are
expected to receive capital punishment as well. The issues at dispute in the criminal cases
are the degree to which each defendant participated in the said incidents and whether or
not they were a part of a conspiracy inclusive of Aum Shinrikyo leader Asahara Shoko. The
courts were extremely hard on the defendants who formerly worked for the Aum Shinrikyo
headquarters, since Aum Shinrikyo evolved into an ―enemy of the people.‖
Another disputed issue in the criminal cases concerns the mind control theory. It is difficult
to explain rationally why young individuals, who graduated from top universities in Japan
and then became medical doctors or scientists, approved and participated in the slaying of
people in a short period of time. To date, there have been only very poor explanations such
as ―religions have that sort of characteristic,‖ ―a person‘s involvement in religion has
nothing to do with his educational background,‖ and ―young people today lack imagination.‖
Therefore, to date, no judgments have been passed to find that the defendants—by using
mind control in accordance with the intents and purposes of the religious organization and
its leaders—manipulated the thoughts and emotions of its members and thus made the
believers capable of easily committing crimes. Rather, courts have rigorously questioned the
individual responsibility of suspects for getting deeply involved in such a dangerous
organization.

Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 43
The Application of the Subversive Activities Prevention Law and Aum Shinrikyo
After Aum Shinrikyo was ordered to dissolve its religious corporation and after it declared
bankruptcy, Aum Shinrikyo continued its organizational activities without legal
representation. The police (public safety) authorities affirm that the Aum Shinrikyo
membership has increased since 1998 and estimate that the group has more than 1,000
members. The personal computer manufacture and sales industry managed by Aum
Shinrikyo believers makes large sales profits of 6 billion yen per annum by selling its
products at attractively low prices. Apparently, this money is used to fund important
activities.
The Japanese Public Security Investigation Agency‘s Ministry of Justice maintained that it
kept the conduct of Aum Shinrikyo members under strict surveillance and restricted their
actions in compliance with the Subversive Activities Prevention Law. Strong objections were
raised in response to this statement by the government. Objectors asserted that such
governmental surveillance discriminates on the bases of thought and religious belief and
that it infringes freedom of thought and freedom of religion guaranteed under the Japanese
Constitution. As a result, the Public Safety Commission did not approve the use of the
Subversive Activities Prevention Law, stating that there was no clear and present danger
that the Aum Shinrikyo would again commit a crime against society-at-large, such as
indiscriminately killing people.
However, as stated above, the police (public security) authorities assert that the danger still
exists that Aum Shinrikyo members may act against the public. Aum Shinrikyo members
own or rent several facilities for communal living throughout Japan. In these areas, local
residents installed their own surveillance towers (a small building) in front of the Aum
Shinrikyo communes to monitor the cult‘s activities. Reasoning that the cult could destroy
their peaceful and safe living environments, people opposing Aum Shinrikyo have also
formed groups and conducted demonstrations with a view to ridding the communes from
the local areas. These people are requesting that their local governments cooperate with the
movements. The local governments have taken extra legal measures and rejected the group
application for change of residency of Aum Shinrikyo believers. There is a much-heated
debate of whether or not this is a violation of fundamental human rights.
Given the anxieties and demands of such residents, in December 1999 a new law was
passed to continue surveillance of any organization whose members killed indiscriminately
and to closely monitor the activities of individual members of groups organized by the
members of the former group. This law has been strongly criticized for violating freedom of
religion, as was also true of the Subversive Activities Prevention Law. However, in the wave
of Aum Shinrikyo bashing, this new law, with many problems, was passed in a very short
time (about 20 days). This law has been applied to Aum Shinrikyo since the beginning of
2000.
Legal Issues Involving Cults
Defamation
A number of lawsuits claiming defamation were filed against the mass media, scholars,
lawyers and others for their comments about new religious organizations. Movements to
suppress critical speech are evident, especially in a number of organizations.
Life Space. At the end of October 1999, Life Space persistently maintained that a
mummified corpse would definitely come back to life. This attracted much media attention.
From the end of 1998 onward, Life Space filed lawsuits against any media organization,
lawyers or other parties that were critical of its organization. In one case when Life Space
was referred to as a cult in a television program produced by Fuji Television, the
organization sued Fuji Television, the program‘s commentator, and the director of a relevant