ASIA : Japanese Lawyers Don’t Rush to Take Cult Suspects’ Cases : Bar association may have to draft defense attorneys.

The Japan Federation of Bar Assns., which has criticized police and prosecutors for abusing the rights of Aum Supreme Truth members accused of a host of heinous crimes, is now beginning to worry about its own members, who will have to defend the cultists.

Supreme Truth defendants have found only a handful of lawyers willing to defend them on charges ranging from homicide to the manufacture of poison gas and narcotics, and courts will have to designate attorneys for most of the estimated 150 suspects, said Koken Tsuchiya, the federation’s chairman.

The public is so distraught by charges that the cult indiscriminately spread poison gas that it hasn’t been easy finding lawyers to undertake the task, he said.

“Average people feel a revulsion toward lawyers who defend people who have been accused of perpetrating evil acts. ‘Why do you defend such nasty criminals?’ they ask us,” Tsuchiya said.

Since the Supreme Truth scandal broke, Tsuchiya and the federation have served as watchdogs for the rights of cult members. They have criticized police and prosecutors for arresting many suspects on charges unrelated to the crimes for which they ultimately were indicted, and for media leaks portraying the accused as guilty.

Now the federation is vowing to ensure that all the defendants are properly represented in court.

“We must not bend the procedures of democracy, no matter how serious the crime may be. Investigations and prosecutions of crimes must be conducted by due process of law,” Tsuchiya declared.

In the Supreme Truth case, that will require courage, he said. Defense lawyers will face physical danger, he predicted, saying his federation intends to pay for special life insurance policies for them. It has already asked police to provide the attorneys the same kind of protection they give to judges and prosecutors, but “so far, we’ve had no answer to our request,” Tsuchiya said.

The number of lawyers needed is not known. Indeed, prosecutors are still investigating charges against the cult, which has been accused of spreading sarin gas in Tokyo’s subways on March 20, killing 12, and unleashing a June, 1994, gas attack on the city of Matsumoto that killed seven.

But Tsuchiya said that Shoko Asahara, Supreme Truth’s founder, who has been charged with murdering 20 people, ought to have at least 10 attorneys. To date, Asahara has hired only one, Tsuchiya said.

The Tokyo District Court has set a tentative date of Oct. 26 for Asahara’s trial. No dates have been mentioned for dozens of other trials that promise to strain the Japanese courts.

Complaining that the court system lacks enough judges and prosecutors, Tsuchiya said the Supreme Truth trials and appeals could last 10 to 15 years.

Although Supreme Truth reportedly has millions of dollars in assets and would normally be forced to pay for state-appointed attorneys, authorities are seeking a court order to abolish the organization as a legal entity.

That could open the door to hundreds of lawsuits that could quickly bankrupt the organization.

If so, the state would be forced to pick up the entire legal tab, Tsuchiya said.