Especially after the sarin attack, he was sometimes referred to by Japanese as "Aa ieba Joyu", which is a pun on the expression "Aaieba koiu", meaning someone who is excessively contrarian and argumentative (literally "you say one thing and he says the opposite").
The group has admitted responsibility for the various incidents involving some of its former senior members, including the Tokyo Subway gas attack, delivered apologies to the victims, and established a special compensations fund.
Leadership split into two opposing factions by the end of 2005, according to the Japanese media quoting the Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA), which has been monitoring Aleph since 1999.
While the fundamentalist faction wishes to keep the organization as close to its pre-1995 ideal, Joyu and his reformer supporters advocate a milder course, aimed at softening social tensions and re-integration into society.
Opposing factions split in late summer 2006, with Joyu and his supporters (among them many former Aum leaders) residing in a separate building in Tokyo and calling themselves Hikari no Wa (The Circle of Rainbow Light).