In the year since Aum Shinrikyo was spared disbandment under the Antisubversive Activities Law, the cult has expanded its activities by running successful computer shops and promoting its ideals on the Internet, the Public Security Investigation Agency said Monday.
The agency, which is under the Justice Ministry, on Monday announced the results of its surveillance operation. In January 1997, its request to have Aum outlawed under the antisubversive law was turned down by an independent commission.
The cult has since regained strength, and its followers now number about 1,400 nationwide, according to the agency. Currently, the cult holds title to 28 facilities across the nation and has 14 central sections, including those handling public relations, legal matters, publishing and its computer business, the agency says.
Since the deadly March 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, for which several key cultists are standing trial, 427 followers have been indicted. Of the 343 who have been released without charges or have finished serving prison terms, 155 have returned to the cult, the agency says.
The agency estimates that the cult has sold at least 4 billion yen in computers and computer parts through six cult-affiliated shops in 1997. The cult uses its live-in followers as employees and sells products at prices more cheaply than in discount outlets, the agency says. These followers receive a monthly allowance of 10,000 yen or so, and the rest of their salary goes to the cult, the agency adds.
The agency also asserts that the cult has gone high-tech. Last October, it opened an Internet home page exclusively for its members. To retrieve information, users must have an ID and password.