The Tokyo District Court has demanded that the publisher of a weekly magazine withdraw copies of its latest issue, which carries courtroom photographs of Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara, it was learned Monday.
The court lodged a formal protest with the editorial department of the Weekly Post and publisher Shogakukan Inc. for carrying trial photographs of the cult guru, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, in the magazine's Sept. 20 issue, which hit the stands Monday.
The magazine has explained to the court that the photos were secretly taken by a freelance photographer during Asahara's June 21 and July 4 trial sessions.