After the Aum Supreme Truth cult changed its name in 2000 to Aleph, it further split in May 2007 into a main faction called Aleph and a splinter group named Hikari no Wa (The Circle of Rainbow Light) due to a confrontation among members over the path on which the cult should operate. Later, Aleph split again and a sect was formed by a former female Aleph executive and other members.
At Aum's peak in 1995, the number of members exceeded 10,000, but now only about 1,650 members belong to the groups that originated from Aum.
Aleph and Hikari no Wa conduct their activities at facilities all across the nation as they continue to recruit young people.
Hikari no Wa promotes itself as having broken away from Chizuo Matsumoto, also known as Shoko Asahara. In contrast, Aleph has increasingly strengthened its devout belief in Matsumoto through programs such as having believers watch and listen to for extended periods videos of Matsumoto preaching.
The Public Security Intelligence Agency's analysis is that all three groups are still under the influence of Matsumoto and continue to have dangerous characteristics.
Aleph and the other offshoots are said to be building up assets by collecting participation fees and receiving monetary offerings at seminars held for their believers and through other measures.
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