spokesperson
A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.
Duties and function
In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...
and
public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...
manager of the Japanese doomsday cult
Aum Shinrikyo
, better known by their former name , is a Japanese new religions, Japanese new religious movement and doomsday cult founded by Shoko Asahara in 1987. It carried out the deadly Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 and was found to have been respo ...
, and served as the ''de facto'' chief of the organization from 1999 to 2007, when he split and formed a new group.
Background
Fumihiro Joyu, originally from
Kurume, Fukuoka
is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 295,367 in 137,140 households, and a population density of 1309 people per km². The total area of the city is .
Geography
Kurume is located in the Chikugo Plain ...
in
Kyūshū
is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...
, graduated from
Waseda University
Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...
, one of
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
's most prestigious private colleges, with an M.A. degree in
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
.
Spokesman for Aum Shinrikyo
After the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, he was summoned to Japan after the arrests of senior followers and he resumed his position as Aum Shinrikyo's spokesperson. He was arrested and tried for "inciting others to make false statements during
992
Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Worldwide
* Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as far south as Germany and Korea.
Euro ...
court hearings". Some observers linked Joyu's indictment to a supposed government attempt to "decapitate the cult". The arrest, lengthy trial, and subsequent acquittal of Japan's veteran attorney and Human Rights activist
Yoshihiro Yasuda
is a Japanese lawyer known for his anti–death penalty activism. With death penalty being a prominent method of punishment for violent criminals in Japan, Yasuda has defended many of these cases. At the time when Yasuda took on many of these ...
, then head of Shoko Asahara's legal team, a move which was harshly criticized by
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
, is often cited in support of this hypothesis.
Joyu would often argue with reporters during press conferences. Especially after the
sarin
Sarin (NATO designation GB nerve_agent#G-series.html" ;"title="hort for nerve agent#G-series">G-series, "B" is an extremely toxic organophosphorus compound.
Aleph
Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''ʾālep'' 𐤀, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''ʾālef'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''ʾālap'' ...
, the first letter of the
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicase, unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably ...
. The group has admitted responsibility for the various incidents that involved some of its former senior members, including the Tokyo Subway gas attack, delivered apologies to the victims, and established a special compensations fund. Some of the controversial doctrines that previously attracted criticisms were removed. Most of the time, Joyu resided within Aum's religious facilities with occasional trips to the outside world. Police officials were quoted as advising him to refrain from public activities as they 'could not guarantee his safety'.
Joyu's attempts to soften tensions with society did not win him much praise, though. Judging from the statements made by the country's government officials and unanimously critical media coverage, Aleph is still regarded as a threat.
The Circle of Rainbow Light (2007–present)
Leadership split into two opposing factions by the end of 2005, according to the Japanese media quoting the
Public Security Intelligence Agency
The is the Security agency, domestic intelligence agency of Japan. It is administered by the Ministry of Justice (Japan), Ministry of Justice and is tasked with internal security and espionage against threats to Japanese national security based o ...
(PSIA), which has been monitoring Aleph since 1999. While the fundamentalist faction wishes to keep the organization as close to its pre-1995 ideal, Joyu and his reformer supporters advocate a milder course, aimed at softening social tensions and re-integration into society.
Opposing factions split in late summer 2006, with Joyu and his supporters (among them many former Aum leaders) residing in a separate building in Tokyo and calling themselves Hikari no Wa (The Circle of Rainbow Light). According to Joyu, many of the members have not taken sides yet, and keep staying with the opposing group. It was raided by PSIA agents on 10 May 2007.Cult group of former Aum official inspected by public safety agency. Retrieved 10 May 2007.
Tatsuya Mori
is a Japanese documentary filmmaker, TV director, and author.
Career
Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, Mori graduated from Rikkyo University, where he appeared in the student films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa. After graduating, he tried acting and even a ...