EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Aum Leader’s 2nd Son Seeks Damages from Govt

Tokyo, April 4 (Jiji Press)–The second son of Chizuo Matsumoto, former leader of the now-defunct Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government to seek damages for an attempted inspection of his home, Jiji Press learned Friday. The 32-year-old son of Matsumoto, who went by the name Shoko Asahara and was executed in 2018, also said in his statement submitted to Tokyo District Court, “I do not believe in so-called Aum Shinrikyo.” “I have never been a member of Aleph,” he declared, denying that he belongs to the major successor group of Aum. According to court records and other materials, the Public Security Intelligence Agency attempted to inspect the apartment in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, where the son and his 62-year-old mother lived, on March 26, 2025, under the law to control organizations that committed indiscriminate mass murder. The widow of Matsumoto is said to have rejected the inspection. The Saitama prefectural police on April 14 the same year searched the apartment and elsewhere on suspicion of violating the law by rejecting the inspection, after the agency filed a criminal complaint with the police. Soon after 1 a.m. the next day, agency staff communicated with the son in front of his home when he returned after observing a search at another location. As the staff attempted to persuade him to accept an agency inspection, the son asked whether his refusal would constitute the crime of rejecting an inspection. He also said, “I don’t have enough information to decide,” and “I’ll consult with a lawyer,” before he left the scene. This is the first time that details of his remarks and behavior related to the agency’s inspection attempt have come to light. In May last year, the son filed a lawsuit seeking confirmation that he is not an executive, worker or member of Aleph, which is subject to the organization control law, and that his home is not subject to an agency inspection. He also demands damages of 3 million yen, arguing that agency members surrounded him to make him accept an inspection and that the inspection itself is illegal. The first session of oral proceedings was held in August. The government says that the son calls himself the second guru, or leader, and conducts ritual activities. Calling him “the de facto ruler of Aleph,” the government says that he is an executive of the successor group who can be involved in its decision-making and is also a member of the organization. It also says that attempts to persuade him to accept an agency inspection were not illegal. In the Saitama police home search in April 2025, tens of millions of yen in cash, Matsumoto’s photographs and textbooks on his doctrine were found. The widow is known to have been receiving 400,000 yen a month from Aleph as what are called painting usage fees since around 2002. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]