TOKYO, March 11 (Kyodo) - Sumitomo Bank and Hosei University were among the clients of two computer software companies believed to be under the control of the AUM Shinrikyo cult, police sources said Saturday.
The Osaka-based bank and the Tokyo university were found to be among some 140 entities -- both government and private institutions -- that have directly or indirectly ordered computer systems from AUM-related companies, apparently without knowing of the link between the firms and the cult, the sources said.
The cult, accused of attacking the Tokyo subway system with nerve gas five years ago, owns at least five computer companies employing about 40 AUM members who develop computer software, according to the sources.
The 140 entities include the Defense Agency, the Metropolitan Police Department, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Kyodo News.
Many of the entities have said they did not know they had ordered systems from AUM-related companies, and that the companies had a reputation for producing high-quality systems at low prices.
Police suspect AUM tried to steal data from ministries and companies, and that the computer companies were a major source of income for the cult.
In January, the cult announced it had renamed itself Aleph.

TOKYO, March 11 (Reuters) - The doomsday cult blamed for the deadly 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system wrote software for the police that provided the sect with classified data on police patrol cars, Japanese media reported on Saturday.
The Metropolitan Police Department discovered that the Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth) sect wrote software to track about 150 police vehicles, including unmarked cars, about a month before the system was to be completed in early 1998, they said.
The cult was briefly able to receive classified tracking data on 115 vehicles through the contract, reports said.
The police, one of numerous key government agencies that bought software systems from the cult, worked to purge the software after the link to the cult was discovered, they said.
It also changed the license plates on vehicles as well as getting rid of other cars in order to prevent the cult from tracking the vehicles, according to reports.
A police spokesman declined to comment on the reports.
The cult's software company, Vainqueur Ltd, which provided computer systems for the metropolitan police, worked as a subcontractor to provide software to 50 institutions and organisations, according to local media reports.
A major private university, local governments and leading Japanese news agency Kyodo News were among the companies and organisations that bought software designed by the company, reports said.
Aum Shinri Kyo's use of related companies and its role as a subcontractor made it almost impossible for ministries and organisations to be aware that they were buying computer systems from the cult, computer experts said.
In the years following the subway nerve gas attack, the cult, now called ``Aleph,'' has designed software for various government agencies and ministries. It developed a software system for Japan's Defence Agency that would manage classified communications.
The government recently ordered ministries to stop using software developed by companies associated with the cult.
Public anxiety over the cult still remains high and fears will be rekindled later this month on the fifth anniversary of the gas attack on Tokyo's subway system, which killed 12 people and injured thousands, is marked on March 20.

TOKYO -- Computer companies affiliated with the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday sect developed software programs for at least 10 government agencies, including the Defense Ministry, and more than 80 major Japanese companies in recent years, police officials said Wednesday after a surprise raid on the group's affiliates this month.
The discovery has raised widespread fears in Japan that Aum, which killed 12 people five years ago in a nerve gas attack on a Tokyo subway, now has access to sensitive government and corporate computer systems and could engage in acts of "cyberterrorism," the officials said.
Underscoring the immense fear that the sect provokes in Japan, the Defense Ministry and Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., the country's main provider of telephone and Internet service, immediately suspended the use of all computer software developed by companies linked to Aum. The government said it was considering doing the same at all its agencies.
The security officials provided no proof that the Aum sect, which recently changed its name to Aleph and denounced its violent past, has the ability or the ambition to interfere with the computer systems of former customers.
Some Aum members said the officials were trying to vilify the sect at a time when it is seeking to live in peace with Japanese society and to use funds from its computer operations to compensate victims of its past crimes.
Among the government agencies affected are those for construction, education and telecommunications, according to documents and computer disks discovered in the raid, police said.
The authorities said customer ledgers showed that the Japanese companies affected were major players in the electronics, food, banking, transportation and metal manufacturing fields. The most prominent corporate customer was Nippon Telegraph & Telephone.
Many of the companies and agencies said they did not know they were ordering software from Aum-related firms because their main suppliers had subcontracted work to businesses affiliated with the sect.
Authorities said Aum-related companies developed about 100 types of software, including systems for customer management, airline route management and mainframe computer operations.
Government security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they were extremely concerned that Aum could use information gained in developing the programs to cripple vital computer and communications networks at public agencies and corporations.
The officials said they suspect that during the development process, the Aum-related companies could have written features into the software that would allow them to breach "firewalls," which serve to prevent invasion of a computer system by outsiders. They said they also feared the sect could have planted viruses that could shut down these government or corporate computer systems or send recruitment messages.
An Aum member, who is familiar with the group's internal workings and who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the sect was still trying to confirm the information provided by police. Even if the information proves to be true, the member said, no harm was done by the sect providing good products at cheap prices.
"Concerns about cyberterrorism and access to government agency data are being raised by media reports without confirmation," he said. "They are raising the specter of these things just because Aum members are running the shops."
In the past, police and tax authorities have said that Aum earns about $65 million a year through the sale of computers at seven affiliated retail shops in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.
"Principally, it's a matter of whether the product is good or bad, but since we are in such a social environment, I don't think that we can just say the product is good and that's all we're concerned about," Natsumeda said.
"If we knew an Aum company was developing the software, we would not want to be involved with it." Security officials said that while it is not illegal or a violation of government policy to do business with the cult, they are conducting an investigation to find out how the software companies obtained the contracts.
The software companies had a reputation for producing high systems at low prices, and customers were said to be generally pleased with the work. The companies were able to win business by bidding 30 percent to 40 percent below market prices, the officials said, mainly because their employees, who were all Aum members, worked virtually for free.
The officials said there were more than 40 employees working at the Aum related software companies and that many of them were graduates of prestigious national universities like Tokyo University and Kyoto University, where they studied computer science. Some of the employees worked as systems engineers at major software companies before joining the cult.
Government officials and corporate executives said they would take pains in the future to avoid using Aum companies as subcontractors, but doing so would likely increase the costs of procuring some software.
Aum officials declined to comment on the development, which could severely hurt its computer operations, which are a major source of revenue for the sect, and the cornerstone of what its leaders say are plans for the sect to reform itself. The sect has set as a major priority providing compensation for victims of crimes committed by former members.
An Aum member, who is familiar with the group's internal workings and who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the sect was still trying to confirm the information provided by police. Even if the information proves to be true, the member said, no harm was done by the sect providing good products at cheap prices.
"Concerns about cyberterrorism and access to government agency data are being raised by media reports without confirmation," he said. "They are raising the specter of these things just because Aum members are running the shops." In the past, police and tax authorities have said that Aum earns about $65 million a year through the sale of computers at seven affiliated retail shops in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.
Public anxiety over the Aum cult has increased in recent years as it increased its commercial and recruitment activities. But last year, the Government passed a new law that allows police to enter cult facilities at will to conduct inspections.
In its annual human rights report, the State Department noted in February that while religious freedom is a guaranteed right in Japan, only the Aum sect has been placed under government surveillance and is subject to public pressure.

TOKYO, March 10 (Kyodo) - A computer software company in Tokyo linked to the AUM Shinrikyo cult developed a computer system for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), as well as for a number of universities, government ministries and major companies, the MDP's Public Security Division said Friday.
The MPD revealed that the company, Vainqueur Ltd., provided about 60 systems to 50 entities, including a vehicle management system for the MPD and the electronic data system for Kyodo News.
The MPD system, which was replaced after the AUM link was discovered, managed all police vehicles, including those for senior officials and unmarked police cars.
The department said it had to get rid of some vehicles and change the license plates on others after learning that data, including license numbers and vehicle types, were obtained by the cult.
The MPD ordered the system from IBM Japan Ltd. at a cost of 11 million yen in November 1997, and IBM parceled out the project to several subcontractors, including Vainqueur, which received a 2 million yen contract from IBM.
The MPD discovered the AUM company was involved in the project in February 1998, about a month before the system was completed, it said.
Only a limited number of senior officials were informed at the time, it said.
In addition, Kyodo News learned Vainqueur received a subcontract to construct its computer system for receiving foreign wire services, introduced in November 1998, but determined the system was not tampered with.
Other systems developed by the AUM company include a management system for a private university in Tokyo and a meter reading system for an energy company. The names of the entities have been withheld by the MPD.
The MPD said AUM obtained a list of some 100 contractors for a major manufacturing company, also unnamed, through Vainqueur.
The lists were confiscated during a Feb. 29 raid on eight AUM-related facilities in connection with a case in which an AUM member was accused of renting an office for the cult under a false name.
To date, the MPD has so far revealed that up to five AUM companies have provided a total of about 220 systems to 190 entities, including government ministries, universities, major companies, local banks and news media, it said.
The Public Security Division has said they suspect AUM tried to steal data from ministries and major companies, and that the computer companies were an important source of funds for the cult.
In January, the cult announced it had renamed itself Aleph.

Aum Shinrikyo founder Shoko Asahara specifically ordered a former cult follower to torture and kill fellow cultist Toshio Tomita in 1994 because Asahara found out that he wanted to leave the cult, the former Aum member testified Friday.
During Asahara's hearing before the Tokyo District Court, Shigeo Sugimoto, who was considering leaving the cult at the time, said Asahara was testing his belief in the guru by ordering him to torture Tomita, whom Asahara accused of spying.
Asahara allegedly ordered four Aum members to torture Tomita in order to get a confession out of him. When Tomita denied the accusation, Asahara ordered Sugimoto to strangle him.
Sugimoto faces life in prison for the murder of Tomita and his role in the March 1995 sarin gas attack on Tokyo's subway system. The court will hand down its ruling on Sugimoto on July 17.

TOKYO, March 9 (Kyodo) - The Tokyo District Court on Thursday ordered seven former senior members of the AUM Shinrikyo cult to pay compensation to 41 plaintiffs, including those injured in the 1995 gassing of Tokyo subway trains and family members of those who died in the attack.
The court ordered the former members, including Yoshihoro Inoue, 30, Seiichi Endo, 39, and Katsuya Takahashi, 41, to pay the whole amount demanded by the plaintiffs. Takahashi remains at large.
The plaintiffs had sought a total of 668 million yen from 15 members of the cult, including the seven subject to Thursday's ruling. They also include Shoko Asahara, 45, the cult's founder, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto. Six of the 15 defendants have already been ordered by the court to pay compensation and two others have agreed to accept the plaintiffs' demand.
The case between the plaintiffs and AUM Shinrikyo ended in December 1997 and the cult paid about 244 million yen in compensation for victims of the Tokyo subway gassing during the cult's bankruptcy proceedings.
The court declared AUM bankrupt as a result of ''excess debts'' in March 1996.
Following the declaration, procedures began to distribute the cult's assets among claimants, who included victims of AUM crimes and bereaved family members of victims.
Kenji Utsunomiya, chief attorney for the plaintiffs, told a news conference, ''Although we are satisfied that we won the case, we are afraid that the defendants are not capable of paying the whole amount, to be realistic. We do hope that the defendants will not appeal to the higher court and accept the ruling.''
A 40-year-old elder brother of a woman injured in the March 20, 1995 subway gassing said, ''My younger sister is still bedridden at a hospital. The gassing incident still continues for us.''
''The ruling made it clear that we cannot avoid compensating for the actual damage we have caused,'' said Hiroshi Araki, public relations chief for the cult. ''Although we do not know what will happen to our group, we would like to make an honest effort to provide the compensation.'' Asahara is standing trial accused of playing a role in at least 17 crimes, including the subway gassing, which killed 12 people and injured more than 5,000.
Last December, AUM first admitted its culpability in the gas attack and other crimes, apologizing to victims and announcing its intention to compensate them.
In January, the cult announced it had renamed itself Aleph.

TOKYO: A Japanese court yesterday ordered seven cult disciples to pay US$6.3 million (HK$49.14 million) over a poison gas attack on Tokyo's subway that killed 12 people and injured thousands.
Tokyo District Court said the members of Aum Supreme Truth, which has since changed its name to Aleph, must pay a total 670 million yen in compensation, a court spokesman said.
The sect members, including high-ranking disciple Yoshihiro Inoue, 30, were ordered to pay 41 plaintiffs, including relatives of those killed in the attack on March 20, 1995.
Judge Seiichiro Nishioka said the Sarin gas attack was masterminded by sect leader Shoko Asahara and carried out by ``a number of followers'', according to a report by Jiji Press.
``Their motive was immature and selfish and deserves to be punished strongly. The pain and anger of the victims and the relatives of the deceased are tremendously deep,'' the judge said.
The six disciples involved in the ruling apart from Inoue were Shigerou Sugimoto, Masato Yokoyama, Kiyotaka Tonozaki, Seiichi Endo, Tomomasa Nakagawa and Katsuya Takahashi.
It was the second ruling in a civil case filed against Asahara and 14 other disciples.
In the first ruling, the court ordered the leader, 44, who is still on trial for 17 criminal charges including murder, and of his five followers to pay a total of 890 million yen to the same plaintiffs.

TOKYO, March 9 (Reuters) - Five years after a fatal gas attack on Tokyo's subway system, the guru of a doomsday cult accused of the killing is still on trial, in what has come to symbolise the country's snail-paced judicial system.
Shoko Asahara, leader of the Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth Sect), stood in court for the 148th time on Thursday, on charges of masterminding the March 20, 1995 gas attack which killed 12 people and made thousands ill.
The trial, which is now in its fifth year, promises to go on much longer, with legal experts saying it may be well over 15 years before the final verdict.
If convicted, Asahara is likely to be sentenced to death by hanging, the maximum penalty for murder.
In addition to the subway gassing, Asahara, whose real name is Chizuo Matsumoto, also faces 16 other charges, including the planning of a separate nerve gas attack in 1994 in which seven people were killed and 144 injured.

JAPAN COURT SYSTEM ``TIME ROBBERS''

For decades, lawyers have criticised the Japanese court system as ``time robbers,'' because suspects can be held for years in jail while cases wind their way through the justice system.
In Japan, prosecutors indict suspects and a three-member panel of judges hands down both the verdict and the sentence. There is no jury.
A chronic shortage of judges slows down the process.
While the number of trials, both civil and criminal, has expanded threefold in the 40 years since 1955, the number of judges has increased by only 30 percent. The average judge handles about 300 criminal and civil cases at one time.
And with both defendants and prosecutors having the right to appeal, it can take years, even decades, for a final verdict.
One example is the trial of former prime minister Kakuei Tanaka, who was arrested in 1976 for taking bribes. The trial and subsequent appeals took 19 years from start to finish and Tanaka died two years before the final guilty verdict was handed down.
In Asahara's case, prosecutors made an extraordinary decision to drastically reduce the number of people listed in the indictments as ``injured'' in a bid to shorten court proceedings.
Prosecutors said the step could cut the length of the trial by up to eight years. Still, given original estimates it could last 30 years, that would shorten it to only 22 years.
The first ruling by the Tokyo District Court is expected within a year at the earliest. But a guilty verdict is almost certain to be appealed to the Tokyo High Court, and probably to the Supreme Court.

FEARS OVER AUM REMAIN

While public interest over the trial was strong in the early stages, it has since dwindled. But concerns over the cult remain strong.
Late last month, Japanese police said that Aum members were involved in developing computer systems for a number of government ministries, including the Defence Agency.
Computer experts said this could have given Aum a back door into the networks, meaning the group could have been just a step away from getting its hands on vital information, including defence communications.
A poll published last week by the mass circulation Yomiuri Shimbun showed that 81 percent of those surveyed still fear Aum.
Prompted by concern the cult was making a comeback, Japan's parliament passed new laws in December allowing the government to put Aum under surveillance since early February.
Aum had tried to fend off the heightened scrutiny by saying it had implemented reforms, insisting it was now a benign religious group.
In the past, Aum preached that the world was coming to an end and that the cult must arm itself to prepare for various calamities.

The Aum Supreme Truth cult received revenue totaling about 2.6 billion yen, including about 1.6 billion yen from sales at computer shops, during a three-year period from 1997 to 1999, the cult announced at a press conference Saturday night.
The cult used most of the revenue to purchase new facilities, support its members and for other purposes, Fumihiro Joyu, a 37-year-old senior member, and Aum spokesman Hiroshi Araki said at the cult's Yokohama branch.
According to the announcement, the revenue came from sales at its computer shops in Akihabara, Tokyo, and other locations where about 200 followers were employed. During the three-year period, the cult also generated about 400 million yen in revenue from sales at computer software companies operated by its members, and about 600 million yen from seminars and other branch-level activities.
Meanwhile, the cult's expenditure during the period totaled about 2.66 billion yen, they said.
Among the expenditures, the largest was for living expenses for about 600 members at live-in facilities operated by Aum, which totaled about 1.8 billion yen.
The cult also spent about 300 million yen on the purchase of facilities at Otawara, Tochigi Prefecture, and to obtain a lease for printing facilities in Sanwamachi, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Other expenses included 290 million yen to construct shelters and stockpile food and other emergency equipment in the event of a global-scale disaster, such as an "Armageddon" war predicted by Aum founder Chizuo Matsumoto, also known as Shoko Asahara.
The legal costs to defend suits filed against the cult over various crimes allegedly committed by it totaled about 33 million yen, they said.
The cult also estimated that its followers have about 180 million yen in cash and deposits.
Joyu and Araki said that Aum members are living off personal assets and stored provisions as the computer stores are no longer profitable.
Commenting on a recent report that Aum-related companies had received contracts to provide software to government offices and major companies, the cult said the group of Aum members operating such software companies will be disbanded after they complete the current contracts.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the so-called M Group, which comprises five companies run by the cult's followers, has developed sales personnel and client management systems and other software for the Defense Agency, Construction, Posts and Telecommunications and Education ministries, and about 80 major companies including NTT.
Sarin attack survivors meet Survivors of Aum's alleged sarin attacks in 1994 and 1995 and victims' family members held a symposium in Tokyo on Saturday, calling for social support for the incurable injuries suffered by survivors of the attacks.
At the symposium, titled "We'll Never Forget You," participants emphasized that they are still suffering from the aftereffects of the deadly nerve gas attacks in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in 1994 and on the Tokyo subway system in 1995.
The Matsumoto poisoning attack killed seven people and injured more than 200, while the gassing on the Tokyo subway system killed 12 commuters and sickened thousands of others.
The symposium was organized by the group that raised funds to financially support survivors and bereaved families of the two attacks.
March 20 will mark the fifth anniversary of the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
In a keynote speech at the symposium, Yoshiyuki Kono, a victim of the Matsumoto attack, stressed the need for financial support for the sarin victims.
"Every evening, I have a slight temperature," Kono said. "My medical costs are very high." Kono, 50, was the first person to report the Matsumoto attack to police, and was once considered a prime suspect before being exonerated later.

The Aum Supreme Truth cult received revenue totaling about 2.6 billion yen, including about 1.6 billion yen from sales at computer shops, during a three-year period from 1997 to 1999, the cult announced at a press conference Saturday night.
The cult used most of the revenue to purchase new facilities, support its members and for other purposes, Fumihiro Joyu, a 37-year-old senior member, and Aum spokesman Hiroshi Araki said at the cult's Yokohama branch.
According to the announcement, the revenue came from sales at its computer shops in Akihabara, Tokyo, and other locations where about 200 followers were employed. During the three-year period, the cult also generated about 400 million yen in revenue from sales at computer software companies operated by its members, and about 600 million yen from seminars and other branch-level activities.
Meanwhile, the cult's expenditure during the period totaled about 2.66 billion yen, they said.
Among the expenditures, the largest was for living expenses for about 600 members at live-in facilities operated by Aum, which totaled about 1.8 billion yen.
The cult also spent about 300 million yen on the purchase of facilities at Otawara, Tochigi Prefecture, and to obtain a lease for printing facilities in Sanwamachi, Ibaraki Prefecture.
Other expenses included 290 million yen to construct shelters and stockpile food and other emergency equipment in the event of a global-scale disaster, such as an "Armageddon" war predicted by Aum founder Chizuo Matsumoto, also known as Shoko Asahara.
The legal costs to defend suits filed against the cult over various crimes allegedly committed by it totaled about 33 million yen, they said.
The cult also estimated that its followers have about 180 million yen in cash and deposits.
Joyu and Araki said that Aum members are living off personal assets and stored provisions as the computer stores are no longer profitable.
Commenting on a recent report that Aum-related companies had received contracts to provide software to government offices and major companies, the cult said the group of Aum members operating such software companies will be disbanded after they complete the current contracts.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the so-called M Group, which comprises five companies run by the cult's followers, has developed sales personnel and client management systems and other software for the Defense Agency, Construction, Posts and Telecommunications and Education ministries, and about 80 major companies including NTT.
Sarin attack survivors meet Survivors of Aum's alleged sarin attacks in 1994 and 1995 and victims' family members held a symposium in Tokyo on Saturday, calling for social support for the incurable injuries suffered by survivors of the attacks.
At the symposium, titled "We'll Never Forget You," participants emphasized that they are still suffering from the aftereffects of the deadly nerve gas attacks in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, in 1994 and on the Tokyo subway system in 1995.
The Matsumoto poisoning attack killed seven people and injured more than 200, while the gassing on the Tokyo subway system killed 12 commuters and sickened thousands of others.
The symposium was organized by the group that raised funds to financially support survivors and bereaved families of the two attacks.
March 20 will mark the fifth anniversary of the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
In a keynote speech at the symposium, Yoshiyuki Kono, a victim of the Matsumoto attack, stressed the need for financial support for the sarin victims.
"Every evening, I have a slight temperature," Kono said. "My medical costs are very high."
Kono, 50, was the first person to report the Matsumoto attack to police, and was once considered a prime suspect before being exonerated later.