Editing Aum Shinrikyo (section)

=== After 1995 ===
On 10 October 1995, Aum Shinrikyo was ordered to be stripped of its official status as a "religious legal entity" and was declared bankrupt in early 1996. However, the group continues to operate under the constitutional guarantee of freedom of religion, funded by a successful computer business and donations, and under strict surveillance. Attempts to ban the group altogether under the 1952 Subversive Activities Prevention Law were rejected by the Public Security Examination Commission in January 1997.

The group underwent a number of transformations in the aftermath of Asahara's arrest and trial. It re-grouped under the new name of Aleph in February 2000. It has announced a change in its doctrine: religious texts related to controversial Vajrayana Buddhist doctrines that authorities claimed were "justifying murder" were removed. The group apologized to the victims of the sarin gas attack and established a special compensations fund. Provocative publications and activities that alarmed society during Aum times are no longer in place.

Fumihiro Joyu, one of the few senior leaders of the group under Asahara who did not face serious charges, became official head of the organization in 1999.

In July 2000, Russian police arrested Dmitri Sigachev, an ex-KGB and former Aum Shinrikyo member, along with four other former Russian Aum members, for stockpiling weapons in preparation for attacking Japanese cities in a bid to free Asahara. In response, Aleph issued a statement saying they "do not regard Sigachev as one of its members".

In August 2003, a woman believed to be an ex-Aum Shinrikyo member took refuge in North Korea via China.<br />Current activitiesEdit

A June 2005 report by the National Police Agency showed that Aleph has approximately 1650 members, of which 650 live communally in compounds. The group operates 26 facilities in 17 prefectures, as well as about 120 residential facilities.

An article on the Mainichi Shimbun on 11 September 2002, showed that the Japanese public still distrusts Aleph, and compounds throughout Japan are usually surrounded by protest banners from local residents demanding they leave. There have been numerous cases where local authorities have refused to accept resident registration for cult members when it is discovered that Aleph has set up a facility within their jurisdiction. (This effectively denies cult members social benefits such as health insurance, and a total of five cases were taken to court by cult members, who won every time). Local communities have also tried to drive the cult away by trying to prevent cultists from finding jobs or to keep cult children out of universities and schools. Right-wing groups also frequently conduct marches near Aum-related premises such as apartments rented by Aum followers with extremely loud music broadcast over loudspeakers installed on minivans, which add to their neighbors' displeasure.<br />Monitoring of Aum ShinrikyoEdit

In January 2000, the group was placed under surveillance for a period of three years under an anti-Aum law, in which the group is required to submit a list of members and details of assets to the authorities. In January 2003, Japan's Public Security Investigation Agency received permission to extend the surveillance for another three years, as they have found evidence which suggests that the group still reveres Asahara. According to the Religious News Blog report issued in April 2004, the authorities still consider the group "a threat to society".

In January 2006, the Public Security Investigation Agency was able to extend the surveillance for another three years. Despite the doctrinal changes and banning of Vajrayana texts, the PSIA advocates an increase of surveillance and increases in funding for the agency itself; periodically, the group airs concerns that texts are still in place and that danger remains while Asahara remains leader. Aleph leaders carefully insert passages into almost everything they say or write to prevent misinterpretation, including karaoke songs.

On 15 September 2006, Shoko Asahara lost his final appeal against the death penalty imposed on him after his trial for the sarin attacks. The following day Japanese police raided the offices of Aleph in order to "prevent any illegal activities by cult members in response to the confirmation of Asahara's death sentence", according to a police spokesperson.

So far, 11 cult members have been sentenced to death, although none of the sentences have been carried out upon any of the members, nor have the time and date for the executions to take effect been publicly established.<br />SplitEdit

On 8 March 2007, former Aum Shinrikyo spokesman and head of Aum's Moscow operation, Fumihiro Joyu, formally announced a long-expected split/schism. Joyu's group called '''Hikari no Wa''' ('''The Circle of Rainbow Light''') is committed to uniting science and religion, thus creating the new 'science of the human mind' having previously aimed to move the group away from its violent history and toward its actual spiritual roots.
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