Tens of millions of yen found at home of Aum Shinrikyo founder's wife
The Japan Times/July 16, 2025
Saitama – Police in Saitama Prefecture have found tens of millions of yen in cash at the home of the wife of the now-defunct Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult's founder Chizuo Matsumoto, who went by the name Shoko Asahara, informed sources said Tuesday.
The cash was found when the Saitama Prefectural Police searched the apartment of Matsumoto's 66-year-old wife and 31-year-old second son, the sources said.
Matsumoto was executed in 2018 over a series of incidents involving the cult, including the 1995 sarin nerve gas attack on Tokyo's subway system.
According to sources including those from the Public Security Intelligence Agency, the wife and son are not members of Aleph, Aum Shinrikyo's main successor group, although the group is believed to be seeking to make the son a guru to succeed his father.
Public security authorities are investigating where the cash came from, while being increasingly vigilant over the son's activities and financial aid to the wife.
In March, the agency sought to search the apartment of the wife and son in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, based on the law controlling organizations that have committed acts of indiscriminate mass murder. However, this was rejected by the wife, investigative sources said.
After receiving a criminal complaint from the agency, the prefectural police searched the apartment in mid-April on suspicion of a violation of the law. At the time, tens of millions of yen were found in small batches in multiple locations, the sources said.
The agency has searched locations linked to Aleph and two other successor groups a total of about 600 times since 2000. It was unusual for the agency to target the wife and son.
It has been revealed that Aleph paid Matsumoto's wife about ¥400,000 monthly from 2002 to 2006 for the use of her paintings. This payment is believed to have continued after 2006, and authorities suspect that Aleph is effectively supporting her daily life.
Matsumoto named his second son as one of his successors before his execution, according to the agency and others.
In 2013, internal strife broke out at Aleph when Matsumoto's third daughter and others opposed his wife's moves to get the second son back into the group. Some followers formed a splinter group around 2015.
In 2020, the Supreme Court confirmed a ruling ordering Aleph to pay more than ¥1 million in damages to victims of Aum Shinrikyo incidents. Nevertheless, the group has not complied with the order.
