Matsumoto's second son officially recognized as Aleph leader
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 the appointment of leader, punishments on 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
33 minutes ago
- Japan Times
Taiwanese vessel suspected of conducting survey in Japan's EEZ for second time
A regional branch of the Japan Coast Guard has said that a Taiwanese research vessel was confirmed to have lowered what looked like a cable into waters in Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off Kagoshima Prefecture. According to the 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, based in the city of Kagoshima, a coast guard patrol boat spotted the Taiwanese vessel conducting the suspicious activity at a point some 335 kilometers west-northwest of the island of Tokunoshima in the prefecture around 3:50 p.m. Monday. The JCG boat radioed the Taiwanese vessel and told it to stop the activity, warning that a survey without prior consent is not permitted. The Taiwanese ship passed the geographically equidistance line between Japan and Taiwan to the west at around 7:47 p.m. and left Japan's EEZ. In June, the same Taiwanese vessel was found carrying out a survey without consent in Japan's EEZ near the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, prompting the JCG to urge it to stop the activity.
NHK
11 hours ago
- NHK
Orphaned by the Hiroshima bomb
Eighty years after the war ended, the painful memories of a woman orphaned by the Hiroshima bomb reminds us of the catastrophe's horrors.
Asahi Shimbun
19 hours ago
- Asahi Shimbun
NPA develops tool to restore data encrypted by Phobos/ 8Base
A document file is encrypted by ransomware. (From a demonstration video provided by the National Police Agency) The National Police Agency announced it has developed specialized software to recover data encrypted by Phobos and 8Base ransomware attacks. The tool will allow users of PCs and other electronic devices to readily 'mend' their stored information, even if they have no relevant technical expertise. It means victims facing extortion will no longer have to worry about paying cash to cyber criminals. The anti-ransomware app is available on the NPA's website as well as the No More Ransom page operated by the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol). 'We expect victims of cyberattacks to actively take advantage of the software,' an NPA official said on July 17. Approximately 2,000 cyberattacks linked to Phobos and 8Base have been confirmed around the world since 2018, with at least 22 countries affected. Around 90 companies and local governments in Japan across 29 prefectures are believed to have been affected by ransom threats since 2020. One especially notable cyberattack in October 2022 targeted the Osaka General Medical Center in Osaka, rendering electronic care records and medical fee calculations inaccessible. The data restoration software was developed after the NPA's national cyber department discovered a ransomware generator program on the dark web. This part of the internet is accessible exclusively through certain software. A range of illegal goods and information are traded on the dark web, as data transmission sources are difficult to trace. With assistance from the FBI, the NPA identified the necessary code for encryption recovery in May of this year. The Japan-U.S. collaboration led to completion of the new application, with a male technical officer in his 30s from the NPA's national cyber department playing a key role in the endeavor. Entering encrypted data into the app can effectively repair the files '100 percent.' The original data may appear within seconds, depending on the amount of inputted information. The NPA emphasized that the software's effectiveness was confirmed in tests by the FBI, among other parties. Currently, Tokyo is part of a joint international investigation into Phobos and 8Base. Five Russian men suspected of playing leading role in ransomware attacks have been arrested since 2024. In December 2023, the NPA's national cyber department created an anti-ransomware restoration tool to protect online users from a cybercriminal group known as LockBit. A spate of countries are now using the app, the NPA said.
