SAITAMA (TR) – Saitama Prefectural Police mentioned this week that they discovered tens of thousands and thousands of yen in money on the residence of the spouse and second son of former Aum Shinrikyo cult chief Shoko Asahara throughout a search earlier this 12 months, stories Jiji Press (July 15).
In 2018, the justice ministry executed Asahara — born underneath the identify Chizuo Matsumoto — whereas he was on loss of life row for the finishing up of the lethal sarin fuel assault on Tokyo’s subway system in 1995. For many years, authorities have monitored successor teams to Aum.
According to the Public Security Intelligence Agency and different associated events, the spouse and second son don’t belong to Aleph, which is without doubt one of the cult’s successor teams. However, it’s believed that the group is making an attempt to make the second son the successor to Matsumoto because the guru of the group.
Public safety authorities are on excessive alert in monitoring the second son’s actions. They are additionally within the monetary assist his widow is receiving, which makes the supply of the money crucial.
Supporting the spouse’s way of life
According to an investigator, the Public Security Agency tried to conduct an on-site inspection of the house in Koshigaya City in March underneath the Organization Control Act. However, Matsumoto’s widow didn’t comply.
After receiving a grievance from the Public Security Agency, the prefectural police as a substitute carried out a search in mid-April on suspicion of violating the Group Control Law. During that search, they discovered a number of tens of thousands and thousands of yen in money saved in numerous compartments inside.
Since deciding on surveillance measures for Aum-related events in 2000, the Public Security Agency has carried out roughly 600 on-site inspections of three successor teams, together with Aleph. However, the residence of Matsumoto’s widow and second son will not be a typical goal.
According to the company, it has been revealed that Aleph paid Matsumoto’s widow roughly 400,000 yen per thirty days from 2002 to 2006 as royalties for the usage of work she had performed. As effectively, the funding is believed to have continued past 2006, which led public safety authorities to consider that Aleph could also be successfully supporting her way of life.
The company additionally says that Matsumoto named his second son as one among his successors whereas he was alive. As effectively, it seems that Aleph is making an attempt to make him the chief of the group. For this motive, they believe that the group is offering monetary assist to the household.
Rejoin the cult
Since 2013, Matsumoto’s widow has tried to have her second son be a part of Aleph, however her third daughter and others have opposed this, which has led to inner conflicts throughout the group’s management. Around 2015, a few of its followers cut up off and have become generally known as the Yamada Group.
The Supreme Court has ordered Aleph to pay roughly 1.025 billion yen in compensation to victims of a sequence of crimes dedicated by the cult, together with the aforementioned sarin fuel assault, however the group has not complied.
In accordance with the Organization Control Act, Aleph reported property to the federal government of roughly 1.3 billion yen in 2019. However, the determine was solely roughly 61 million yen as reported in February 2025.