[1] Many of the remaining followers of Aum Shinrikyo founder and convicted terrorist Shoko Asahara[5][6] formed Aleph five years after the Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995.
Hikari no Wa split from Aleph in 2007 and publicized the intention of "completely discarding the influence of Aum founder Shoko Asahara."
[7] The group is said to organize gatherings and pilgrimages, visiting places deemed holy by different religions and distributing sermons on various aspects of Buddhism.
[8] Japan's Public Security Examination Commission considers Aleph and Hikari no Wa to be branches of a "dangerous religion"[9] and announced in January 2015 that they would remain under surveillance for three more years.
[11] On February 28, 2019, the Tokyo High Court ruled that another extension of the group's surveillance would be allowed, reversing the earlier decision that caused monitoring to be discontinued in 2017.