Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama on Friday underscored the need for continued surveillance of Aum Shinrikyo, the cult that carried out the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and another deadly nerve gas attack the preceding year.
Moriyama's remarks came as she presented an annual report on Aum's activities to the Cabinet compiled by the ministry's Public Security Investigation Agency.
According to the report, Aum, which has changed its name to Aleph, had about 650 live-in followers and some 1,000 nonresident believers as of the end of December.