Hisako Ishii, formerly a close aid to Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, testified in court April 8 that there was a difference in the way male and female followers regarded Asahara.

Ishii, 37, talked about her opinion of Asahara in the trial of Kiyohide Hayakawa, 48, another cultist accused of murders and other crimes. The session marked the first time Ishii has spoken in the trial of another Aum follower. She was testifying for the defense and the prosecution asked no questions.

She is standing trial for her alleged involvement in four cases, including harboring other cultists and destroying the corpse of an Aum follower. She has left the cult since her arrest.

Wearing her trademark straight hair down to her waist, Asahara's former mistress chose her words carefully when asked by Hayakawa's defense counsel about the difference between male and female cultists' attitudes toward Asahara.

She said female cultists' feelings for Asahara were mixed with affection, while male cultists regarded him as a man they could look up to. "Because Mr. Asahara is of the opposite sex, female cultists, if they thought he was an attractive man, would deepen their confidence in him," Ishii said. "I had the impression that, for male followers, feelings of respect were more conspicuous."

Ishii also testified that Kazuaki Okazaki, who along with Hayakawa is accused of having carried out the November 1989 murders of anti-Aum lawyer Tsutsumi Sakamoto and his family, pocketed more than 1 million yen from the cult's sales of Aum books in late 1986.

Okazaki also used to steal money from Asahara, and took some 300 million yen with him when he fled the cult in February 1990, Ishii testified.