The ward government of Tokyo's Setagaya-ku is poised to enact an ordinance aimed at protecting local residents from the AUM Shinrikyo cult that allegedly launched two deadly nerve gas attacks, officials said Wednesday.
The ward government will submit a draft ordinance to the ward assembly for approval during a session that opens on June 12.
Officials said the move comes after a local court ruled that the ward government's decision not to accept residency registration applications filed by cult members is illegal and therefore invalid.
This will be the first local ordinance across the country that targets the AUM Shinrikyo, according to ward officials. The move is expected to spur other local governments to enact similar ordinances.
"We would like to use the ordinance as a springboard to step up efforts to ease local residents' fears over the cult. We will strongly urge the national government to place the cult under its surveillance over an extended period," a ward official said.
If enacted, the ward government could invoke the ordinance in cases where activities conducted by any organization placed under surveillance are deemed to threaten the peaceful life of local residents.
Under the ordinance, the ward government would investigate the impact that such activities have on local residents' lives and implement measures to ensure residents' safety.
Specifically, the ward government intends to investigate the losses the existence of AUM members in the ward have caused to the local community, such as a fall in land prices and an increase in the number of residents moving out of the ward. The ward authorities are also considering hiring experts to provide counseling to local residents disturbed by the cult.
The draft ordinance also states that the ward government can provide subsidies to organizations involved in anti-cult activities. The Public Security Investigation Agency placed the AUM Shinrikyo under its surveillance over a three-year period from January 2000 under the "law concerning surveillance of organizations involved in mass murder," which targets the cult. The agency regularly inspects the cult's facilities and orders it to report its activities.
Since December 2000, about 80 AUM members, including its leader Fumihiro Joyu, have moved into three apartment complexes in the ward's Karasuyama district. The ward government has turned down their applications for residency registration. However, the Tokyo District Court has ruled that its refusal to register them as Setagaya residents is illegal.
Shoko Asahara, founder of the cult, and many of his followers are under indictment on charges of involvement in many crimes he masterminded, including the March 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway system that killed 12 people and sickened thousands of others.