Four former members of the Honohana Sanpogyo foot-reading cult on Monday pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring with cult founder Hogen Fukunaga to swindle 15 people out of 750 million yen.
In their first trial hearing before the Tokyo District Court, Kazuhisa Kawamura, 45, Hiroko Kaneko, 50, Tsukiko Nozoe, 52, and Harue Matsumoto, 64, also expressed remorse for the pain they caused the victims and offered their apologies.
According to the indictment, Kawamura and Kaneko swindled about 100 million yen each, Nozoe 190 million yen and Matsumoto 360 million yen.
In their opening statement, prosecutors said the four actively played important roles with Fukunaga, 55, in defrauding the victims.
They told the victims, who visited the cult for counseling about physical or family problems, that their problems would worsen unless they attended a cult seminar, which cost 2.25 million yen, or donated up to 14.3 million yen to the cult, prosecutors said.
To convince the victims, Fukunaga and the four insisted that the victims' feet told of their ominous future, and a "voice from heaven," which only Fukunaga could hear, urged that the victims attend the seminar or pay the money.
Ten other Honohana members stand accused of fraud at the court in a separate trial. That group includes Fukunaga, who denied the charges against him in his first hearing earlier this month.
Michiko Ichinose, the 37-year-old former head of the cult's Urawa branch, received a suspended 18-month prison term last week.
The cult reportedly collected about 95 billion yen, mainly from its followers, between 1987 and 1999.
A former member of the Honohana Sanpogyo foot-reading cult was sentenced Tuesday to a suspended 18-month prison term for swindling about 4 million yen from two women who consulted the cult about issues related to illness and child-rearing.
It was the first ruling handed down against 15 Honohana members charged with fraud.
Michiko Ichinose, the 37-year-old former head of the cult's Urawa branch, was found guilty of defrauding the women after urging them to undergo religious training to overcome their troubles, the Tokyo District Court said.
Conspiring with Honohana guru Hogen Fukunaga, Ichinose advised the women to undergo training after "diagnosing" their woes by reading the soles of their feet at a cult facility in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in August 1996 and February 1997, the court said.
"It was a vicious crime as it took advantage of the unstable emotional condition of the victims, who had serious worries," said presiding Judge Toshio Nagai.
"The victims suffered serious psychological pain as they lost a large sum of money without having their problems resolved," he added.
The judge, however, said he suspended the sentence because the defendant was not a senior cult leader, had to follow her superiors' orders and did not receive any of the money she helped swindle. Ichinose had also donated her own assets to the cult.
Prosecutors had demanded a two-year prison term.
Ichinose told the court in previous hearings that she had also been deceived by Honohana. She also apologized to the victims for causing them great suffering.
On Oct. 12, 55-year-old cult founder Fukunaga pleaded not guilty in the first hearing of his fraud trial. He is accused of swindling believers out of 149 million yen.
Fukunaga and three others are accused of bilking 31 people out of money from 1994 to 1997. The 31 had consulted the cult about illness and other troubles.
"They were relief works, and I have never deceived people," he told the court.
Born Teruyoshi Fukunaga, he started preaching in 1980, claiming to be the world's final savior, following Jesus and Buddha. He based his claim on what he called a "voice from heaven."
He has claimed the power to read people's past and future by examining their soles. He quit as leader in January amid the police probe.
TOKYO - A former leader of a Japanese "foot cult" that charged huge fees to diagnose ailments by examining soles of people's feet was given a suspended jail sentence on Tuesday.
Michiko Ichinose, the former head of a local branch of Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo (Flower of Law and Three Law Practice), was handed an 18-month suspended jail term, a court official said. That means Ichinose will not be required to serve the sentence as long as she is not convicted of any crime over the next three years.
The court found Ichinose, 37, guilty of swindling about four million yen ($37,010) from two women by telling them, after reading the soles of their feet, that unless they trained at the cult their children would be short-lived, the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper said.
Domestic media reports said the cult, headed by Teruyoshi Fukunaga, is believed to have defrauded some 30,000 followers of 81 billion yen ($749.4 million) since 1987, when it was officially recognised as a religious group.
In April, a Japanese court ordered the cult and Fukunaga to pay 227.2 million yen ($2.10 million) to 27 former followers.
Fukunaga, 55, is also being tried for fraud, and last week pleaded not guilty in his first court hearing.
A number of bizarre religious cults have sprung up in Japan over recent years, including the doomsday cult Aum Shinri Kyo (Supreme Truth), which is accused of carrying out the 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system which killed 12 people and injured thousands.
TOKYO - A former member of the Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo foot-reading cult was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in prison, suspended for 3 years, on a charge of swindling about 4 million yen out of two women who consulted the cult over illness and child-rearing.
Michiko Ichinose, the 37-year-old former head of the cult's Urawa branch, was found guilty of defrauding the women after urging them to undergo religious training to overcome their troubles, the Tokyo District Court said in a ruling.
Conspiring with Ho-no-Hana guru Hogen Fukunaga, Ichinose told them to train when she diagnosed their woes by reading the soles of their feet at a cult facility in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in August 1996 and February 1997, the ruling said.
''It was a vicious crime as it took advantage of the unstable emotional condition of the victims, who had serious worries,'' said Presiding Judge Toshio Nagai.
''The victims suffered serious psychological pain as they lost a large sum of money without any getting any solution to their problems,'' he added.
But Nagai said the court gave Ichinose a suspended sentence as she was not a senior cult leader and had to follow her superiors' orders.
It was the first ruling handed down against 15 Ho-no-Hana members indicted in connection with the fraud case.
Ichinose told the court in previous hearings that she had also been deceived by Ho-no-Hana. She also apologized to the victims for causing them suffering.
On Oct. 12, 55-year-old cult founder Fukunaga pleaded not guilty in the first hearing of his fraud trial. He is accused of swindling believers out of 149 million yen.
Fukunaga and three others are accused of bilking 31 people out of the money from 1994 to 1997. The 31 had consulted the cult about illness and other woes.
''They were relief works, and I have never deceived people,'' he told the court.
Born Teruyoshi Fukunaga, he started preaching in 1980, claiming to be the world's final savior following Jesus and Buddha. He based his claim on what he called a ''voice of heaven.''
He has claimed the power to read people's past and future by examining the soles of their feet. He resigned as leader of Ho-no-Hana, based in Fuji, Shizoka Prefecture, in January after a police investigation.
A group of 46 people filed a lawsuit Friday against the Honohana Sanpogyo foot-reading cult, demanding the sect pay around 400 million yen in compensation for allegedly swindling money from them.
The plaintiffs claimed that the cult and its founder, Hogen Fukunaga, told them to pay between 1.3 million yen and 33 million yen each for training between 1987 and 1999.
According to the suit, the cult performed foot-reading diagnoses on group members who sought help for health and family problems, warning them that they would experience trouble if they did not take action.
The 46 are from Hokkaido, Tokyo, and the prefectures of Aomori, Iwate, Fukushima, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, according to the group's lawyers.
The suit brings to about 1,220 the number of people who have lodged damages suits against the cult, based in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, the lawyers said.
Fukunaga, 55, is currently standing trial for fraud. He pleaded not guilty Thursday in his first hearing at the Tokyo District Court.
Fukunaga told the court that he has been engaged in religious activities, which he described as authentic, for 20 years.
Fukunaga, whose real name is Teruyoshi Fukunaga, began preaching in 1980, claiming to be the world's final savior following Jesus Christ and the Buddha. He based his claim on what he called the "voice of heaven."
He claims to be able to read people's past and future by examining the soles of their feet.
The cult, which once claimed to have 30,000 followers, collected 95 billion yen between 1987 and 1999, of which 85 billion yen was taken directly from cult followers as donations or fees for goods and seminars, according to police.
Hogen Fukunaga, founder of the Honohana Sanpogyo foot-reading cult, denied in his first trial hearing Thursday that he conspired with other members of the sect to defraud 31 people out of about 149 million yen.
Fukunaga, 55, told the Tokyo District Court that he has been engaged in religious activities, which he described as authentic, for 20 years. He said this would have been impossible had he committed fraud.
"I have never heard a voice from heaven that instructed me to swindle somebody," he said. "Therefore, I have never told anybody to swindle somebody else."
In their opening statement, prosecutors said Fukunaga and his cohorts conspired between 1994 and 1997 to cheat 31 people out of about 149 million yen by telling them their health or family problems would worsen unless they attended the cult's seminars, which cost 2.25 million yen per person.
In some cases, the accused demanded more than 10 million yen, claiming their targets' problems were very serious, they said.
Fukunaga and the other defendants convinced the victims that they could predict ominous events by reading the soles of their feet, the prosecutors said.
They said Fukunaga told the victims to resolve their problems by attending the seminars or donating to the cult, as instructed by a "voice from heaven" only he could hear.
During the hearing, Fukunaga's lawyer said Honohana's activity did not constitute fraud because the organization is purely religious and its freedom to engage in religious activity is guaranteed by the Constitution.
Nine others charged in the case also appeared at the hearing. Four of them, including the cult's No. 2 man, Yasunori Hoshiyama, whose real name is Yasunori Lee, admitted the fraud charges in court but claimed they fully believed Fukunaga had religious power at the time.
The five others denied guilt and claimed their actions stemmed from their religious beliefs.
Five other Honohana members also accused of fraud are standing trial separately.
On Tuesday, the court is slated to hand down a ruling against Michiko Ichinose, 37, former head of the cult's Urawa branch in Saitama Prefecture. Ichinose stands accused of defrauding followers out of about 4 million yen, and prosecutors are demanding she be given a two-year prison term.
The other four will have their first trial hearings on Oct. 23.
Fukunaga, whose real name is Teruyoshi Fukunaga, started preaching religion in 1980. He claims to be the world's final savior.
The cult, which once claimed to have 30,000 followers, collected 95 billion yen between 1987 and 1999, of which 85 billion yen was taken directly from cult followers as donations or fees for goods and seminars, police said.
The rest of the money came from the cult's affiliated companies.
The cult used 30 billion yen to purchase real estate and construct cult facilities and 20 billion yen for religious activities and personnel fees.
Fukunaga and his wife are believed to have used more than 1.8 billion yen for personal expenses.
During police questioning, Fukunaga admitted that he swindled money from his followers by telling them he could cure illnesses, despite knowing he has no such power.
He also apologized to the victims and said he wished to repay them, the investigators said.
About 1,200 people have filed lawsuits against the cult at eight district courts across the country, demanding it repay more than 5.8 billion yen.
In April, the Fukuoka District Court ordered the cult to pay 227 million yen in damages to former followers.
Hogen Fukunaga, founder and former leader of the Ho-no-Hana Sanpogyo foot cult, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges he swindled money from cult followers.
His attorneys also denied the charges at the first hearing at the Tokyo District Court.
Fukunaga, 55, said Ho-no-Hana never tried to swindle money from people, but instead aimed to relieve their souls.
In their opening statement, public prosecutors called Fukunaga ``the central figure in the organized-fraud group.'' They also accused him of instructing cult staff to gather large sums of money from followers by preying on their vulnerability.
Staff allegedly told followers their diseases would be cured if they joined Ho-no-Hana Sanpogyo training sessions.
Four of the nine co-defendants, including second in command Yasunori Lee, admitted the charges.
The five who pleaded not guilty claimed they had no intention of deceiving people.
Fukunaga said, ``I have never heard `the voice from the heaven' telling me to defraud money. Labeling Ho-no-Hana a fraudulent organization shows a lack of understanding. Ho-no-Hana will prevail for ever.''
Fukunaga's attorneys also maintained his innocence, saying that rather than being acts of fraud, Fukunaga's teachings are based on ``the voices of the heaven'' and are protected by the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion.
TOKYO, Oct. 13 (Kyodo) - A group of 46 people filed a lawsuit Friday against the Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo foot-reading cult, demanding the sect pay a total of some 400 million yen in compensation for allegedly swindling money from them.
The plaintiffs claimed that the cult and its founder, Hogen Fukunaga, told them to pay between 1.3 million and 33 million yen each to undergo training from 1987 to 1999.
According to the suit, the cult performed foot-reading diagnoses on members of the group who sought help for health and family problems and warned the individuals they would have troubles if they did not take action.
The 46 are from Hokkaido and Tokyo, and the prefectures of Aomori, Iwate, Fukushima, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, according to the group's lawyers.
The suit brings to about 1,220 the number of people who have lodged damages suits against the cult, based in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, the lawyers said.
Fukunaga, 55, is currently standing trial for alleged fraud. He pleaded not guilty on Thursday in his first hearing at the Tokyo District Court.
Fukunaga began preaching in 1980, claiming to be the world's final savior following Jesus Christ and the Buddha. He based his claim on what he called the ''voice of heaven.''
He claims to be able to read people's past and future by examining the soles of their feet.
TOKYO, Oct. 12 (Kyodo) - The Tokyo District Court held the first hearing Thursday in the trial for fraud of Hogen Fukunaga, founder of the Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo religious group, and nine of its senior members.
The defendants will make their pleas in the afternoon. Fukunaga, 55, is expected to plead not guilty but some of the other defendants will plead guilty, according to their counsel.
Asked by Presiding Judge Toshio Nagai to identify himself at the outset of the hearing, Fukunaga said, ''I'm a man of religion.'' The public prosecutors then read out the indictment.
Fukunaga and three of the other defendants are accused of defrauding 149 million yen from 1994 to 1997 from 31 people who consulted the cult about illness and other troubles.
According to the prosecutors, Fukunaga examined the soles of their feet and told them they must undergo training to avoid contracting cancer. The money was taken as training fees, according to the indictment.
The remaining six defendants are charged with conspiring with Fukunaga to perpetrate fraud.
Police believe Ho-no-Hana, based in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, has defrauded at least 30,000 people out of 95 billion yen. The police searched the group's facilities for evidence in December and arrested Fukunaga in May.
Five other members of Ho-no-Hana have been indicted for fraud. One of them is standing trial and the trial of the remaining four will begin Oct. 23.
Fukunaga, born Teruyoshi Fukunaga, started preaching in 1980, claiming to be the world's final savior following Jesus Christ and Buddha. He based his claim on what he called the ''voice of heaven.''
He has claimed he can read the past and future of people by examining the soles of their feet. He resigned as the leader of Ho-no-Hana in January after the police search.
Ho-no-Hana has said it once had about 30,000 members.
About 1,200 people across Japan have filed damages suits against Ho-no-Hana, demanding more than 5.8 billion yen. In one of the suits, the Fukuoka District Court in April ordered Ho-no-Hana to pay 227 million yen in damages to 27 people.
TOKYO, Oct. 12 (Kyodo) Hogen Fukunaga, founder of the Ho-no-Hana Sampogyo religious group, pleaded not guilty at the first hearing Thursday of his trial, in which he is accused of swindling believers out of 149 million yen.
Fukunaga, 55, made the plea at the outset of the afternoon session of the hearing at the Tokyo District Court, where he is being tried with nine other senior members of the cult.
Asked during the morning session by Presiding Judge Toshio Nagai to identify himself, Fukunaga said, ''I'm a man of religion.'' The public prosecutors then read out the indictment.
Fukunaga and three of the other defendants are accused of defrauding 149 million yen from 1994 to 1997 from 31 people who consulted the cult about illness and other troubles.
According to the prosecutors, Fukunaga examined the soles of their feet and told them they must undergo training to avoid contracting cancer. The money was taken as training fees, according to the indictment.
The remaining six defendants are charged with conspiring with Fukunaga to perpetrate fraud.
Police believe Ho-no-Hana, based in Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture, has swindled at least 30,000 people out of 95 billion yen. The police searched the group's facilities for evidence in December and arrested Fukunaga in May.
Five other members of Ho-no-Hana have been indicted for fraud. One of them is standing trial and the trial of the remaining four will begin Oct. 23.
Fukunaga, born Teruyoshi Fukunaga, started preaching in 1980, claiming to be the world's final savior following Jesus Christ and Buddha. He based his claim on what he called the ''voice of heaven.''
He has claimed he can read the past and future of people by examining the soles of their feet. He resigned as the leader of Ho-no-Hana in January after the police search.
Ho-no-Hana has said it once had about 30,000 members.
About 1,200 people across Japan have filed damages suits against Ho-no-Hana, demanding more than 5.8 billion yen. In one of the suits, the Fukuoka District Court in April ordered Ho-no-Hana to pay 227 million yen in damages to 27 people.
A former member of the Honohana Sanpogyo foot-reading cult on Friday admitted during the first session of her trial that she conspired with cult leader Hogen Fukunaga, 55, to defraud two women of nearly 4 million yen.
Appearing before the Tokyo District Court, Michiko Ichinose, 37, of Urawa, Saitama Prefecture, told the session that she swindled 3.94 yen million in 1996 and 1997 in conspiracy with Fukunaga and other cult members.
Prosecutors said in their opening statement that the defendant swindled 1.69 yen million from one of the women by telling her that her child would commit suicide unless she attended an August 1996 Honohana Sanpogyo seminar, which cost 2.25 million yen.
She swindled 2.25 million yen from the other woman by telling her that her health would improve after attending a February 1997 seminar, the prosecution said.
In both cases, Fukunaga and other cult members insisted that the victims' feet reflected their ominous futures. The prosecutors said fraud was committed as the cult members knew the foot reading and seminars were bogus.
Ichinose said she deeply regrets causing "huge agony" to the victims and will strive to repay the money she swindled from them. Friday's session was the first of the court hearings that involve 15 cultists accused of obtaining 149 million yen by fraud. The first hearing of cult leader Fukunaga, who was indicted on three separate fraud charges, is slated for Oct. 12.
Upon Fukunaga's orders, the cult examined the soles of its followers' feet and told them that unless they attended the cult's seminars or purchased expensive goods, their own lives and their relatives' would be endangered, prosecutors said.
According to police, the group collected around 95 billion yen, 90 percent of which was collected from the estimated 30,000-strong cult membership.
Fukunaga, born Teruyoshi Fukunaga, claimed that he was the world's final savior after Jesus Christ and the Buddha. He reportedly spent 1.83 billion yen that the cult collected on personal matters.
About 1,100 former followers of the cult have filed suits at eight district courts across the country demanding the cult return money it swindled from them.
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