TOKYO, SEPT 28: Japan's Aum Supreme Truth cult is expected to admit for the first time that its members launched a gas attack on Tokyo's subways killing 12 people and injuring thousands, reports said on Tuesday.The cult would soon issue a statement on the March 1995 subway attack and admit that its members spread the deadly Nazi-invented Sarin gas, the daily Yomiuri Shimbun said.The shift came as the government planned to submit new legislation effectively banning the doomsday cult from expanding its membership and facilities, the Yomiuri Shimbun said.It quoted the cult's chief spokesman, Hiroshi Araki, as saying the sect was now forced to admit its members' involvement in the subway attack after cult leader Shoko Asahara suggested in court last week the Sarin nerve-gas attack was planned by his followers.The Asahi Shimbun daily said the statement would likely say the group "gravely accepts what has occurred and would also detail the involvement of cult members" includingAsahara.Asahara and dozens of his followers are being tried on charges ranging from fraud to murder related to the gas attack, the murders of an anti-Aum laywer and his family, and other acts.The cult leader is fighting 17 criminal charges including masterminding the 1995 subway attack, in which Sarin gas was released in the subways during the morning rush-hour. The newspapers said the cult was also considering changing its name.Aum Supreme Truth members could not be reached for comment.The cult escaped being outlawed under the Subversive Activities Prevention Act in January 1997 when a legal panel ruled there was no reason to believe it could still pose a threat to society.The latest moves were "apparently an attempt to counter the growing chorus of community criticism against the cult whenever cult members try to set up a new residence," the Asahi said.Aum has boosted its financial base with computer sales and is now regrouping with some 1,500 followers at more than 30 facilities inTokyo and other cities, according to the public security investigation agency.Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka said this month that the government was "considering enacting a Bill instead of revising anti-subversion laws" to combat the sect. He added the government planned to submit the Bill to a parliament session expected to start in as early as October.Public anger against the cult has mounted as its size has grown and followers move into often hostile communities. Police have also raided many of its properties investigating allegations of forgery.The Aum Supreme Truth sect has so far reserved comment on incidents attributed to the group, saying any explanations would have to come from Asahara.
