| Japan
approves bill to restrict cult activities (11/03/2000)
Japan yesterday approved a bill aimed at restricting the activities
of the doomsday cult accused of a 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo
subway, Japanese media reported.
The bill did not directly name the cult, Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme
Truth Sect), but said its purpose was to monitor the activities
of any group that has engaged in "indiscriminate mass murder,"
NHK television said.
A number of Aum members, including leader Shoko Asahara, are on
trial and have been convicted in connection with the gas attack,
which killed 12 and made more than 5,000 ill. One was sentenced
to death in September for his part in the subway attack.
The bill was approved at a regularly scheduled cabinet meeting
and was expected to be passed during the current session of parliament,
given a majority held by the coalition government.
Under the bill, a group implicated in serious crimes can be placed
under the surveillance of the Public Security Investigation Agency
for up to three years and could be forced to report on its activities
every three months, Kyodo news agency said.
Police and public security officials would have the right to inspect
such a group's facilities at any time, the bill says.
If the group is found to have committed illegal activities, it
can be banned from acquiring land or facilities for up to six months.
Public pressure and police crackdowns on the cult have intensified
recently in response to fears it could be staging a comeback.
The cult was forced to close several branch offices in September,
and two senior cult members were arrested on suspicion of confining
a woman to cult facilities against her will.
In late September, the group said it would close its branches and
promised to stop recruiting and using its current name, in a move
seen aimed at deflecting further opposition.
The cult was stripped of most of its assets in 1996 when it was
liquidated by court order, but has managed to amass large funds
through businesses as well as purchasing property in many parts
of the country.
|
