Toyko, Japan - Fumihiro Joyu used to be the "public" face of Aum Shinrikyo. After years out of the public spotlight, Joyu is back--and with a vengeance.
These days, Joyu is spreading the word that Aum Shinrikyo under the bearded Chizuo Matsumoto spun out of control. He also says Matsumoto deserves severe punishment for the many crimes committed under his watch.
He wants the flock to know that Matsumoto was not an infallible god, just a mortal human like everyone else--with a capacity for evil.
In driving home this message, Joyu, 43, is trying to take over as head of the cult once and for all. He says his group will pose no threat to society because it will concentrate solely on religious teachings.
On May 14, he addressed several dozen members of Aleph, as the cult now calls itself, at the group's Tokyo headquarters in Setagaya Ward. During the three-hour session, he bluntly told the 80 or so followers to dump their faith in Matsumoto, now 51.
"It was our mistake to have deified him (Matsumoto) and carried out his orders without question," Joyu preached. "That is why all those crimes were committed."
A follower who was present recalled that the usually mild-mannered Joyu spoke in unusually strong language as he hammered away at his theme.
"Many of us are still controlled by a rule that the guru is absolute," he thundered. "But it is time for you all to abandon your emotional dependence on the guru and become independent."
Joyu may have a battle on his hands trying to convert die-hard followers of Matsumoto, who seem oblivious to the murders and mayhem that marked his reign.
Public Security Investigation Agency officials who have been monitoring the cult's activities say the organization is on the precipice of splitting.
That, say insiders, is why Joyu is trying to recruit Matsumoto's followers before it is too late.
Joyu was arrested in 1995 and finished a three-year prison term in December 1999 for perjury. He assumed leadership of the cult the following year.
Since then, he has worked to rebuild the group, but stayed well clear of the rabid paranoia that marked Matsumoto's reign.
Public security authorities initially viewed Joyu's attempts as nothing more than a ruse to convince society at large that the cult no longer harbors any intention to overthrow the established order or commit horrific crimes to achieve its ideological goals.
Joyu, however, was undaunted. In his efforts to create a new image for the cult, he instituted a ban in 2003 on reading Matsumoto's pronouncements. Senior cultists still loyal to Matsumoto tried to isolate Joyu. The result has been seemingly endless internal strife.
An irreparable fissure between Joyu and other cult leaders emerged late last year when the rival camps separately organized a series of seminars or fund-raising meetings. In March, the two sides agreed to divide the headquarters and residence into separate apartments in Setagaya. By July, they were maintaining separate records of accounts.
The following month, Joyu told his followers he would create a new religious order based on a doctrine and practices that have nothing in common with the former Aum Shinrikyo.
Public Security Investigation Agency officials believe that between 50 and 100 of the group's 650 followers who engage in communal life are likely to join Joyu. Of a total of 1,000 lay followers, it is estimated that about 10 percent may defect.
The relatively small number of followers who may seize the chance to start afresh reflects the fact that 90 percent of commune residents and 70 percent of lay followers joined Aum when Matsumoto was at the height of his powers.
In his efforts to convert Matsumoto's followers, an aide says Joyu explains that, unlike other leaders, he knows for a fact that the Aum Shinrikyo crime spree that likely will send several former senior cultists to the gallows was orchestrated by Matsumoto.
He also tells them that Matsumoto deserves execution for masterminding crimes, such as the 1995 sarin nerve-gas attack on the Tokyo subway system that killed 12 and sickened thousands. Since Matsumoto's fate appears to be sealed, Joyu tells members to accept it calmly, the aide says.
Cult watchers view Joyu's efforts as a last-ditch bid to ensure Aum survives in some form.
Hiromi Shimada, researcher of religious studies at the University of Tokyo's Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, said he believes Joyu's impatience reflects his fear that the cult will collapse once Matsumoto is executed.
"While it takes a form of parting from Matsumoto's influence, his effort should be viewed as an attempt to get a religion that was created by Matsumoto to survive," Shimada said.
Joyu's aides insist his motives are purely religious. They say he plans to get rid of any reminders of the past: Matsumoto's doctrine is out, as is the practice of chanting "Aum" during sutras. There will be no religious titles or names for members. Joyu even intends to stop providing vegetarian meals cooked at an Aleph factory as well as providing the strange headgear that used to mark members, as well as other items for training.
Joyu clearly is a man on a mission: He and his immediate circle are now hard at work compiling a new doctrine. They have visited famous temples and shrines across Japan to examine traditional teachings to include in the new doctrine.
The temples include those enshrining Maitreya, a Buddhist icon who traditionalists believe will salvage the world 5.6 billion years after Buddha entered nirvana. Joyu has often compared himself with Maitreya and is even referred to as such within Aleph.
Given this, Joyu's opponents suspect he is only trying to usurp Matsumoto's position as someone to be worshiped.
Aleph spokesman Hiroshi Araki told The Asahi Shimbun that the majority of current members regard Matsumoto as their spiritual leader. He said it is nonsense for them to worship Joyu.
"It will only end up being a Joyu-kyo (Joyu cult) with Joyu as the guru. That is not the religion we joined and have long practiced," said Araki.
"The guru and his doctrine are the only reason we joined Aum," Araki said. "Those who plan to follow Joyu are seemingly trying very hard to convince themselves (that Joyu's course is right), but I doubt how long they can maintain such self-deception."
Public security authorities and Joyu's followers say members of Matsumoto's family, including his wife, Tomoko, and third daughter Archary, have repeatedly told Araki and others to put a halt to Joyu's efforts.
The anti-Joyu group is widely known as the "A-group" within the cult because many believe it acts at the direct behest of Archary.
Araki admitted he stays in touch with the Matsumoto family "to discuss personal matters."
However, he denied they hold any sway in cult affairs, adding that once Joyu leaves Aleph, the remaining followers, based on each member's beliefs, are likely to more openly assert their faith in Matsumoto.