Two of its members were arrested on suspicion of imprisoning a female follower.

"We will stop missionary work, a street campaign, seminars and leaflet distribution," Tatsuko Muraoka, acting representative of the cult said in Tokyo.

She also said the cult would temporarily stop using the name Aum Shinri Kyo - or Aum Supreme Truth.

"From now on, we will not buy large real estate and will not hold a meeting or festival of followers," Ms Muraoka said.

But she said that the current followers of the cult would continue living together.

Police raid

BBC Tokyo correspondent Juliet Hindell: "The government is planning legislation allowing to ban the cult outright."

Two hundred police officers raided a building near the city of Nagano at dawn on Tuesday after a woman alleged that she had been held there after she had tried to leave the cult.

Aum Shinri Kyo became notorious after cult members released sarin nerve gas on Tokyo's subway system in 1995, killing 12 people and injuring more than 5,000.

When the police pounced on the building in the mountain town of Kisofukushima, about 20 cult members were inside.

Guntani (left) leaving the building

The administrator of the centre, Masahiro Guntani, and his deputy, Ryuji Shimotori, were arrested.

The police allege that Mr Guntani confined an unnamed woman from late March to early April 1998, keeping her hands and feet tied with adhesive tape.

During her confinement, the woman's head was held under water repeatedly until she lost consciousness, according to a police spokesman.

This was a common form of punishment with the cult, say experts.

The woman was finally able to escape in April 1998 and lived with local residents, the police say.

Apology

The attack killed 12 and injured thousands

Since the 1995 nerve gas attack, the Aum cult has refused to admit responsibility.

Cult leader Shoko Asahara is facing a total of 17 charges for masterminding the attack.

Last week he said in court that the sect had "discussed" the release of sarin prior to the crime.

Some of the cult's leaders have already been convicted for their part in the gas attack, but present members have so far avoided apologising.

Their spokesman has consistently said that the cult is still trying to understand what happened.

At Wednesday's press conference, an Aum spokesman said that it now would start considering whether to admit that its members had launched the sarin gas attack.

The BBC's Juliet Hindell: "Ohm may apologise for crimes committed in the past"

After the gas attack, Aum escaped being banned on the grounds that it no longer posed a danger to society.

But, in response to growing public pressure, the Japanese Government is planning new legislation that would outlaw the group.

Russian ruling

Moscow city court ruled on Wednesday that the Russian branch of Aum Shinri Kyo must pay almost 2.5m roubles ($97,000) to 26 people who first filed a case four years ago, alleging they were victimised by Aum.

The plaintiffs included people who had given all their belongings to the cult, as well as parents of cult members who had committed suicide.