The Tokyo District Court on Wednesday rejected a request by Aum Shinrikyo to void a decision by the Public Security Examination Commission to place the sect under surveillance by security authorities.
The ruling marks the first legal decision involving a December 1999 law that allows the Justice Ministry's Public Security Investigation Agency to monitor any organization that has committed "indiscriminate mass murder during the past 10 years," and lets police inspect facilities of such groups without a warrant.
Aum filed the suit in February 2000, claiming there was no realistic danger of it committing indiscriminate mass murder and that the surveillance was unconstitutional. The cult plans to appeal the ruling, according to Aum sources.