Fumihiro Joyu, a longtime spokesman for Aum Shinrikyo, will on Wednesday formally take over leadership of the cult responsible for the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
Joyu, 39, will replace current leader Tatsuko Muraoka, 51, who will then become chairwoman, a newly established position, the cult, which now calls itself Aleph, said.
Joyu's appointment was made Jan. 21 in a meeting among five key members including Muraoka and Joyu, the cult said.
Joyu will serve for three years and may be selected for a second term, the cult said.
Joyu has been serving as the cult's de facto leader since completing in December 1999 a three-year jail term for perjury and falsification of documents relating to Aum's purchase of land in Kumamoto Prefecture. Muraoka is widely believed to be only the nominal leader of the cult.
A number of the cult's members and former members have been convicted for the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system March 20, 1995, which left 12 people dead and thousands injured, as well as other serious criminal cases. The marathon trial of Aum founder Shoko Asahara, 46, continues.