1995: Spokesperson For Aum Shinrikyo
Summoned to Japan on the wave of arrests of senior followers following the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway; resumed his position as Aum Shinrikyo's spokesperson. Arrested and tried for "inciting others to make false statements during court hearings". Some observers linked Joyu's indictment to a supposed government attempt to "decapitate the cult". The arrest, lengthy trial and subsequent acquittal of Japan's veteran attorney and Human Rights activist Yoshihiro Yasuda, then head of Shoko Asahara's legal team, a move which was harshly criticized by Human Rights Watch, is often cited in support of this hypothesis. Sentenced to three years in prison. Released in 1999. Later Joyu apologized for denying Aum's responsibility in the subway sarin attack, saying that at that time he believed that defending Aum this way as a spokesperson he did the right thing to do.
Joyu would often get into argumentative debates with reporters during his press conferences. Especially after the sarin attack, he was sometimes referred to by Japanese as "Aa ieba Joyu", which is a pun on the expression "Aa ieba koiu", meaning someone who is excessively contrarian and argumentative (literally "you say one thing and he says the opposite").
Read more about this topic: Fumihiro Joyu