The scheduled opening Saturday of a personal computer sales outlet in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, to be staffed by followers of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, has been postponed due to a request from the landlords, sources close to the store said.
The outlet, run by human rights activists Eizo Yamagiwa and Yukio Yamanaka, hired Aum Shinrikyo followers as part of a program to support Aum members.
According to the sources, preparations for the launch of the outlet, located in Akihabara, have been completed, but the landlords requested that it be postponed because they feared it might cause trouble.
The store is expected to open today at the earliest, after the two activists iron out details with the landlords, the sources said.
Aum founder Shoko Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, and other members of the cult are on trial or have been convicted in a series of crimes, including the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, which killed 12 people and injured thousands. Aum now calls itself Aleph.