The Public Security Intelligence Agency has officially recognized the second son of Chizuo Matsumoto, former leader of the now-defunct Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, as leader of the group＊s mainstream successor organization, Aleph, the agency said in an official gazette published on Monday.
The name of the 31-year-old son of Matsumoto, who went by the name Shoko Asahara and was executed in 2018, was included in an agency request for administrative action against Aleph, according to the gazette.
The agency last month said in its request for action under the law to control organizations that have committed acts of indiscriminate mass murder that the son led the oversight of Aleph by getting involved in its decision-making process. It said that Matsumoto＊s 66-year-old wife assisted the son as a guardian.
In the request filed with the Public Security Examination Commission, the agency said that since around 2014 the son has been playing a key role in deciding matters related to Aleph such as leadership appointments, punishments of members, responses to litigation and reports to authorities.
The agency added that the son has also been acting as a preacher to senior members, conducting important religious services and writing publications.
In its request, the agency said that Aleph should continue to be barred from using some or all of the 16 facilities it has across Japan, as well as from receiving donations.
The agency newly recognized the home of the son and wife in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, as an Aleph facility. It also sought a ban on Aleph acquiring and leasing land and buildings in 12 prefectures where the group has facilities, including Tokyo and Osaka.
Saitama Prefectural Police raided the home of the son and wife in April, after they refused an inspection by the intelligence agency. The police found tens of millions of yen in cash at the home, which raised the suspicion that Aleph provided the funds to the son.
The son and wife no longer live in the home, people familiar with the police investigation said.
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