Ho-no-Hana's activities went well beyond what can be socially justified

Tokyo District Court ruling

The cult is believed to have netted around $750m over the years.

Correspondents say one reason that such schemes succeed is that the Japanese police have traditionally been reluctant to move against religious groups.

But police have been more willing to take on religious sects since the end of 1999, when a senior member of Aum Shinrikyo - the group responsible for the nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway - was released from prison.

Reincarnation

Mr Fukunaga, a former electrician who claims to be the reincarnation of both Jesus Christ and Buddha, founded the cult in 1987.

At the peak of its popularity, it claimed 30,000 adherents, many of them middle-aged women.

More than 1,200 people have filed suits against Ho-no-Hana, whose name means Teaching of the Flower.

Three other courts have already found against the cult. Monday's fine was the second largest to date.

In April, a court in southwestern Japan ordered the cult to pay $2m to 27 former adherents.