A former Aum Shinrikyo cult member convicted of killing a fellow cultist in 1994 testified Friday that cult founder Shoko Asahara started behaving as if he were a god toward the end of the 1980s.

During the 113th session of Asahara's trial at the Tokyo District Court, Hideaki Yasuda, 31, said that during his time in the cult between 1987 and 1992, the guru's behavior gradually changed.

"I was able to talk to him (Asahara) as an equal in the beginning," Yasuda said in response to a question from Asahara's defense team. "Later, he began to behave like a god to the followers, and I found it difficult talking to him and had few chances to see him.