The trial of Makoto Hirata, which commenced Thursday, is expected to reveal a number of new facts about the former Aum Shinrikyo fugitive, but of most interest to investigators will be how he managed to stay hidden for so long.

Unlike the two Aum fugitives who were caught after Hirata turned himself in on New Year's Eve in 2011 — Naoko Kikuchi and Katsuya Takahashi — the 48-year-old was in hiding for almost 17 years while on the lam.

Kikuchi, who is facing trial over her involvement in a parcel explosion at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building in May 1995, lived with a man she met while on the run and was working at a nursing home at the time of her arrest. She was on her way home from a convenience store in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, when police apprehended her in June 2012.