4 'Ho-no-Hana' followers died while training

Kyodo News Services/December 2, 1999

Shizuoka, Japan -- Four followers of the ''Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo'' religious group died while training at the cult's headquarters in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, sources close to the local fire department said Thursday.

The four men who died are a 30-year-old in June 1994, a 40-year-old in July 1994, a 57-year-old from Iwata in Shizuoka Prefecture in April 1995, and a 62-year-old from Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture in August 1998, the sources said.