Skip to main content.
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
A Random Image
Aum Shinrikyo:

Woman seeking North Korean “asylum” said possible member of Japan cult

Kyodo, Japan
Oct. 29, 2003
infobrix.yellowbrix.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 4866 • Posted: Wednesday October 29, 2003  

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark
Click here... More articles on this topic: Aum Shinrikyo

The AUM Shinrikyo cult, which now calls itself Aleph, said Wednesday [29 October] that a Japanese woman said to have entered North Korea seeking “asylum” may be one of its former members. Officials of the cult said there is a former member whose name and date of birth are identical to that of the woman, but they have yet to confirm if the woman and the former member are the same person.

North Korea has told Japan that a Japanese woman entered the North seeking asylum, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, confirming a report by the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The KCNA report, monitored in Tokyo, identified the woman as Kazumi Kitagawa. Neither the ministry nor the report gave further details, but some reports say the woman is in her 20s.

AUM Shinrikyo said the former member joined it at its Osaka centre in 1995 but officially withdrew from the group in October 2001. The group said she was not a live-in follower but a lay follower. “We have not contacted her since her withdrawal and have nothing to do with her attempt for asylum,” said an official of the cult.

The Foreign Ministry declined to identify the woman, but said a woman believed to be the same person went to the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, northeastern China, in April and expressed a desire to seek “asylum” in North Korea. At that time, Japanese officials at the consulate urged the woman to give up the attempt. A Foreign Ministry official said the woman was apparently motivated by personal rather than political reasons to go to North Korea. Ministry officials said Pyongyang claimed the woman had “illegally entered” North Korea “while making a sightseeing tour of a third country”.

The founder of AUM Shinrikyo, Shoko Asahara, 48, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, is on trial for various crimes, including the fatal 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, that killed 12 people. AUM renamed itself Aleph in 2000.

  • Google Bookmarks
  • Google Reader
  • Gmail
  • Yahoo Mail
  • Twitter
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • Digg
  • Delicious
  • Blogger Post
  • Evernote
  • Facebook
  • Share/Bookmark


What You Can Do From Here

Read More Articles On These Topics
more cult news articlemore religion news Categories: Aum Shinrikyo
more religion news aboutmore Religion News Blog articles about
Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article
Subscribe
Follow Religion News Blog on Twitter


Read Another Article
Find Related Information
cult research search enginecountercult information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults
Find Related Books


Most Popular Today


Share This Article

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:





Counter Cult Search

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.


Apologetics Search

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.


Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

About Religion News Blog
Religion News Blog (RNB), published by Apologetics Index, highlights news items and other resources on world religions, cults, religious sects, alternative religions and related issues. RNB's non-profit news clipping service is used by - among others - Christian apologists, countercult professionals, anticult organizations, cult experts, teachers, religion professionals, reporters and other researchers.

Home
Latest Headlines
RSS news feed [?]
Headlines by Email
News Trackers
Free content for your site
About RNB
Privacy Policy
Contact RNB
Link to RNB
Advertise on RNB
Apologetics Index
Cult FAQ
Apologetics Search Engine
CounterCult Search Engine