Aum Successor Groups Still Dangerous: Justice Minister
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Tokyo, March 18 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki on Tuesday called for caution over the three successor groups to Aum Shinrikyo, ahead of the 30th anniversary on Thursday of the sarin nerve gas attack on Tokyo’s subway system by the doomsday cult.
The successor groups, called Aleph, Hikari no Wa and Yamada-ra no Shudan, “are still conducting activities under the absolute influence of Chizuo Matsumoto, also known as Shoko Asahara, the mastermind of the attack,” Suzuki told a press conference, referring to the executed former leader of the now-defunct cult.
“There is a risk that they will commit acts of indiscriminate mass murder,” the minister noted.
The minister also expressed concern about the groups’ activities in recent years to recruit young people with little knowledge of the deadly attack and other incidents involving Aum Shinrikyo, while hiding their group names.
The Public Security Intelligence Agency will continue to properly and rigorously monitor the successor groups and work to dispel a sense of anxiety among the public, Suzuki said.
Content retrieved from: https://www.nippon.com/en/news/yjj2025031800489/.
