Authorities See Matsumoto's Second Son as Aleph Leader

   Tokyo, July 22 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Public Security Intelligence Agency said Tuesday it believes that the second son of Chizuo Matsumoto, former leader of the now-defunct Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, has taken command of Aleph, the group's mainstream successor organization.
   The agency has concluded that the 31-year-old son is "involved in decision-making and leading the management" of Aleph.
   As Aleph has failed to submit sufficient reports required under the law to control organizations that have committed acts of indiscriminate mass murder, the agency has sought a six-month extension of a recurrence prevention measure from the Public Security Examination Commission to restrict the activities of the successor group.
   In addition to continuing to ban the use of all or some of the 16 facilities across Japan, the agency asked the commission to oblige Aleph to report the purposes of the use of an apartment where the 66-year-olf wife of Matsumoto, who was executed in 2018, and the second son live together in the city of Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, adjacent to Tokyo, designating their home as an Aleph facility.
   In the request, the agency described the wife as a guardian of the second son and recognized her as a member of Aleph together with the second son. The agency defined the second son as an Aleph member for the first time and has raised its alert over him.

(2025/07/22-19:25)