A Japanese court has ruled that the Unification Church should have its official recognition revoked, as stated by the government on Tuesday. This decision implies that the church will no longer be exempt from taxes and is required to liquidate its assets.
According to Tokyo’s District Court, the church’s legal status revocation request, initiated by the government following the investigation into the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has been upheld. The court ruled that the church could still challenge this decision in a higher court.
Abe was fatally shot during a campaign event by a man who was enraged by the ties between Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party and the church. Reports indicated that the assassin was angry about his mother’s donation of around 100 million yen ($1 million) to the church.
Further investigations uncovered that many conservative lawmakers had strong connections to the church.
The church denounced the ruling, labeling it as “a wrong legal interpretation and absolutely unacceptable.”
The history of the church
The Unification Church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification and also referred to as “Moonies” after its late founder Sun Myung Moon, was established in South Korea.
It acquired legal status in Japan in 1968 with the support of Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.
In 2023, Japan’s Education Ministry requested the court to dissolve the Japanese chapter of the sect, citing its manipulative and harmful fundraising and recruitment tactics affecting its followers and their families.
The church argued that this request was a threat to the religious freedom and human rights of its followers and marked the first time a religious group has faced a revocation order in Japan.
The country’s legal system has traditionally been hesitant to control religious activities due to concerns about the curtailment of personal freedoms during wartime.
Edited by: Wesley Rahn
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/japan-court-orders-unification-church-dissolved/a-72025714?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
