Joyu says he will become Aum leader

Japan Today/December 28, 2001

Tokyo -- Fumihiro Joyu, a longtime spokesman for the Aum Shinrikyo cult and its de facto No. 2 man, announced Thursday he will take over the cult, responsible for the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and other crimes, at the end of January.

Joyu, 39, told a news conference at an Aum facility in Tokyo's Setagawa Ward that current leader Tatsuko Muraoka, 51, will step down and become chairwoman.