Aleph , better known by their former name Aum Shinrikyo , is a Japanese new religious movement and doomsday cult founded by Shoko Asahara in 1987. It carried out the deadly Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 and was found to have been responsible for the Matsumoto sarin attack the previous year.
Aum Shinrikyo facility in Kamikuisshiki, September 8, 1996
An anti–Aum Shinrikyo protest in Japan, 2009
An anti–Aum Shinrikyo banner in 2014
PSIA officers conduct a surprise inspection on a suspected Aleph building in 2013.
Japanese new religions are new religious movements established in Japan. In Japanese, they are called shinshūkyō (新宗教) or shinkō shūkyō (新興宗教). Japanese scholars classify all religious organizations founded since the middle of the 19th century as "new religions"; thus, the term refers to a great diversity and number of organizations. Most came into being in the mid-to-late twentieth century and are influenced by much older traditional religions including Buddhism and Shinto. Foreign influences include Christianity, the Bible, and the writings of Nostradamus.
The Dai Heiwa Kinen Tō, Peace Tower built by Perfect Liberty Kyōdan
Head office of Oomoto at Kameoka, Japan
Headquarters of Reiyū-kai
Rissho Kosei-kai’s Great Sacred Hall