One senior government insider said the prime minister changed his stance because his administration decided that it "will not be able to withstand the severe criticism of opposition parties." Only two religious organizations have come under court orders to dissolve. Leaders in both of these groups were found to have violated criminal laws. Politicians and others opposed to forcing the Unification Church to disband have noted that none of its officials has been convicted in a criminal trial. The Religious Corporations Law stipulates that a court can order a religious corporation to dissolve when it is "in violation of laws and regulations" and "commits an act that is clearly found to substantially harm public welfare." At the Oct. 18 Lower House Budget Committee session, Kishida mentioned the case of Aum Shinrikyo, the religious corporation that was ordered to dissolve in 1995 after its members committed mass murder on the Tokyo subway system. Kishida said the basis for such an order is "a breach of prohibitions or orders prescribed in human-made laws, such as the Criminal Law." He then said he believes such "prohibitions or orders" do not include those in the Civil Code.
The LDP has not been open about such policy pacts. The pacts were not mentioned in the report the party released in September about ties between its lawmakers and the Unification Church. An aide to a Lower House member admitted to signing the policy pact on behalf of the lawmaker after an official with the Federation for World Peace visited the local constituency office. That was when Yoshihide Suga was still prime minister. The aide expressed concerns about the upcoming Lower House election because of the clumsy way the LDP-led government was handling the novel coronavirus pandemic. During the Lower House campaign, church members volunteered to call voters to ask them to support the lawmaker. A representative for the Federation for World Peace told The Asahi Shimbun: "There is nothing wrong with supporting a particular political party and candidates. We decline to comment on specifics."
Yamagiwa has been under fire for lack of explanation about his links to the group that has drawn attention over problematic practices such as so-called spiritual sales, in which people are talked into buying jars and other items for exorbitant prices.
The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito expressed this stance in a meeting with the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Nippon Ishin no Kai, also an opposition party. The ruling bloc sees the need for further discussions in order to narrow the differences between the parties over ways to regulate malicious demands for donations. Parliament was able to conduct a meeting to discuss relief measures for victims of problematic practices by the controversial religious group known as the Unification Church, such as soliciting huge donations and so-called spiritual sales of goods at exorbitant prices. It cannot be helped if taking up the envisaged bill becomes a future task because time runs out, said former Consumer Affairs Minister Kenji Wakamiya, who represents the LDP in the four-party forum.
I for one am shocked! Shocked I say!Japan's ruling parties said that they have given up on the idea of submitting a bill to create a new law regulating malicious demands for donations by religious groups during the current parliamentary session. It seems the 'ruling bloc' disagrees with the opposition's idea of setting a limit on donations and introducing criminal punishment against such practices.
Japan's ruling camp defers proposed law to restrict 'spiritual sales'
There are disagreements on the proposed law due to the ruling camp's reluctance to adopt the opposition's idea of setting a limit on the amount of donations.www.japantimes.co.jp
I wonder why the 'ruling bloc' is so reluctant to regulate donations. Are they still protecting their former UC buddies, or is Komeito behind it?
In recent weeks, Kishida has often changed his tune on how to deal with the various issues related to the Unification Church.He had said the Unification Church would not be asked to submit reports or have top officials respond to questions from education ministry officials. But he later ordered an investigation into the organization. And he initially said Civil Code violations would not be taken into consideration when deciding whether to dissolve the church. However, Kishida turned around the next day to say such breaches would be included in any evaluation. He also abruptly said the government would seek revisions to the Consumer Contract Law in the current Diet session, forcing officials of the Consumer Affairs Agency to pick up their pace in writing the legislation. They initially thought the bills would be submitted to the ordinary Diet session to convene early next year. That decision also led to the start of discussions between the ruling coalition and two opposition parties about possible legal changes.
Sayuri Ogawa spent 20 years living in accordance with Unification Church doctrine. Her family forced her to attend services and read the church's literature, and she was forbidden to have romantic relationships. Ogawa was told that she would go to hell if she violated the rules. Her parents impoverished her family through prodigious donations to the church, also known as the Moonies after founder Sun Myung Moon. She was bullied at school for appearing poor, and her parents confiscated her savings of around 2 million yen ($14,300), claiming they would use it for living expenses. Ogawa never saw that money again, but her parents kept donating to the religious group. Years of mental health struggles led Ogawa to leave the church six years ago. "I want the church to be dissolved," Ogawa told Nikkei Asia. "Society must not allow the wrongdoings of this group."
The case against the Unification Church is strong. Testimonials from former members such as Ogawa have been making headlines in Japan since Abe's death. They include the story of Tatsuo Hashida, whose son burned himself to death after his mother donated extortionate amounts of money to the church. [...] Experts say that dissolving the church would not infringe upon members' religious freedoms, as it would simply change the group's legal standing, not prevent people from becoming followers or practicing their faith. "A dissolution order would not mean the organization itself will disappear but it would mean the government revokes the group's religious juridical person status. The group would no longer enjoy tax exemptions and other benefits, but it would continue to exist," said Hotaka Tsukada, an associate professor of the sociology of religion at Joetsu University of Education.
In the survey, 13 of 47 incumbent and incoming prefectural governors and nine out of 20 major city mayors also acknowledged interactions with the Unification Church or its affiliated groups. The poll, conducted between Nov 1 and Nov 30, excluded city assembly members. Of the 334 prefectural assembly members who admitted to past contacts with the church, 279 belonged to the LDP, 11 to Komeito, the junior coalition partner of the LDP, and seven each to the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the opposition Japan Innovation Party. One belonged to the Democratic Party for the People, another opposition party, while 27 were independent.
Governors of 13 prefectures -- Akita, Tochigi, Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Yamanashi, Gifu, Aichi, Nara, Hiroshima, Tokushima and Kagoshima -- said they have had ties with the church. Mayors of nine major cities -- Chiba, Sagamihara in Kanagawa Prefecture, Niigata, Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture, Nagoya, Osaka, Okayama, Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture and Kumamoto -- admitted to having had links.
The Lower House passed a bill that bans organizations from using fear to solicit donations, paving the way for it to clear the Upper House on Saturday, the last day of the parliamentary session. Major opposition parties, including the largest Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), also support the bill. The upper chamber deliberated on the bill later in the day.
An earlier version of the bill did not include penalties for groups found not to be fulfilling the legal requirements but was amended on Monday due to pressure from the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) and Nippon Ishin. Under the amended legislation, groups failing to comply will receive a government warning and be publicly named if they continue to violate the rules. Critics say the bill will offer little relief to vulnerable members of the Unification Church. This bill "is a half-baked attempt to solve the issue of religious organizations in Japan," said Yoshifu Arita, a journalist and former upper house member for the CDP. Arita and other opponents point to France's controversial 2001 anti-cult law as a model for a stricter crackdown on potentially dangerous religious groups. Commonly known as the About-Picard Law, the French legislation punishes groups or individuals found guilty of "fraudulent abuse" resulting from "the exercise of serious or repeated pressure or techniques likely to alter judgment" with up to five years in prison.
"More than 300 households of Unification Church members participated in the election" to get Nakasone elected, Moon said during the address. The comments were confirmed following the Mainichi Shimbun's translation of Moon's Korean-language sermon records. [...] In the 615 volumes of sermon records, Yasuhiro Nakasone was mentioned most frequently among past Japanese prime ministers, as earlier reported by the Mainichi Shimbun. The latest discovery points to the possibility that the Unification Church, now formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, had connections with the Nakasone family over two generations.
The latest demand was not made in a lawsuit. Depending on their circumstances, the former followers want the church to pay between 2 million yen and 220 million yen each, according to the legal team, which comprises 333 lawyers. "We will discuss how to respond to the matter after examining the claim," said a public relations official of the church. Many of the 50 former followers sought support at a helpline opened in September 2022 by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. "They demanded money at every gathering I attended until they emptied my bank account," a former follower in her 80s from the Kansai region said at the news conference. The woman said she is seeking the return of 140 million yen that she gave to the church between 2009 and 2022 through donations, copies of scriptures and other expensive items.
One former municipal assembly member who took part said they heard from those involved with the gathering that about "170 people attended" from Japan. In some cases, the religious group covered travel expenses and in others lawmakers used their political activity funds. When approached by the Mainichi Shimbun, participants denied that the religious group had had any influence on political activities, but one expert has told the Mainichi that having the group cover expenses was inappropriate.
"I met various lawmakers there. There was no problem with applying for the money as political activity funds, but with the way things are in society, I returned it."
Hiroshi Kamiwaki, a professor of constitutional law at Kobe Gakuin University who is versed in the issue of political funds, commented, "Having the religious group cover the expenses creates a weakness in the assembly member toward the church. It is inappropriate because it could lead to a back-scratching relationship. In addition, political activity funds are used to pay for such things as research for council activities, but participation in the event itself was not for that purpose. There is a high possibility it was illegal expenditure."
The government plans to seek a court order to dissolve the Unification Church as early as mid-October following an investigation into the group's activities triggered by the murder last year of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. It also plans to call on the Tokyo District Court to levy a fine against the group's representative director within days as the organization, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, failed to answer numerous questions related to the church's alleged shady business practices, government sources said.
The only question is, why have they been waiting so long??
The program "Kikenna Sasayaki," or dangerous whispers, was aired late at night on Sept. 23. Based on court documents from a lawsuit filed against the church by a former female member -- a suit she won -- the program included a dramatization of past attempts to recruit believers, including hiding the group's name and door-to-door sales tactics disguised as charitable activities. [...] The letter also demanded that the program be canceled and an apology for phrases including, "victims whose lives have been ruined," which had originally been on the broadcaster website but have now been removed. The group claimed that the expressions "make it sound as if our organization is fraudulently inducing believers to join us and ruining their lives," and that the terminology is "clearly insulting."
Regardless of if the unification church finds it insulting, if its true then do they really have any legal leg to stand on? I think NHK should have ignored them and not given in at all.The chutzpah.... the Unification Church demanded that NHK cancel an 'insulting' program' on their more than shady recruitment methods. NHK changed part of the program's title, which the group viewed as problematic, and aired it as scheduled on 23 September. It is unusual for the Unification Church, now known formally as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, to demand the cancelation of a program before it is aired, and an expert pointed out that the group may have been seeking to discourage media coverage.
Unification Church demands Japan's NHK cancel 'insulting' program - The Mainichi
TOKYO -- The Unification Church has published a protest against Japanese public broadcaster NHK, demanding that it stop airing and apologize for a promainichi.jp
The lawyers network issued a statement urging the courts and the government to swiftly order the dissolution of the Unification Church, claiming it was involved in continued illegal activities. It compiled the donation figure after attorneys across the country took on cases involving former followers and sought refunds from the religious group. Amounts that have been refunded through litigation or negotiations were also included in the reported figures. The government is considering asking the Tokyo District Court to order the dissolution of the Unification Church by mid-October, according to sources. A meeting of the Religious Juridical Persons Council, an advisory body to culture minister Keiko Nagaoka, is scheduled to be held around Oct. 12 to discuss the request. Based on the council's opinion, the government hopes to file the request with the court soon.
The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made the decision, with a request expected to be filed on Friday, after collecting opinions at a gathering of a religious organization council of the Cultural Affairs Agency. [...] The Tokyo District Court is likely to deliver a judgment based on the evidence submitted by the government about the organization, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.
Nobuya Fukumoto, a lawyer for the church, said the biggest point of contention lies in the government's interpretation of dissolution requirements stipulated in the Religious Corporations Law. Fukumoto said the ministry's interpretation was flawed. Nobuo Okamura, head of the legal affairs bureau of the church, also rejected the government's argument that followers continued to be harmed through hefty donations after the organization issued a compliance declaration in 2009. "The fact that complaints have decreased by 90 percent is based on data," he said. "We cannot respond to (the government's claim) as there are no specific documents." The government has also said the church published a manual on collecting donations, indicating a systemic approach to gaining funds.
However, the dissolution order, if finalized, will likely not be the death knell of the group now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Insiders who have experienced such orders said the court-ordered dissolutions did not change much, even for a religious organization that carried out mass murder.
There is growing concern that the Unification Church, formally named the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, will transfer its assets to South Korea or another group before the court order is issued, which would otherwise cause those assets to be liquidated and confiscated. Tomihiro Tanaka, head of the group's Japan branch, outlined the group's strategy, expressing their intention to entrust an amount ranging from ¥6 billion to ¥10 billion to the government. These funds, Tanaka said, would be reserved to compensate those who come forward with claims against the church, in the event that the court approves the government's request to revoke their religious corporation status. In that scenario, the group would lose all of its assets, including worship facilities and training centers. He said the church has stopped funding the group's overseas activities, emphasizing that it has no plans to transfer its assets or funds outside Japan until the court decision is finalized.
Moriyama signed it on the spot. A federation official then gave Moriyama a letter of endorsement. His signature on the "Confirmation of Recommendations" was a condition for the letter of endorsement, sources said. During the election campaign, 10 to 20 members of the federation, who were also followers of the church, called voters daily and urged them to vote for Moriyama, sources said. In November 2022, The Asahi Shimbun conducted a survey on Diet members, including Moriyama, asking whether they had exchanged "Confirmation of Recommendations" letters with the church. Moriyama denied ever being presented such a document, let alone signing one.