First up, I just cannot believe that a Korean group, even a cult, would use as its symbol something so reminiscent of Japan's Rising Sun flag (https://petrahellsing.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/search-for-a-moonie/).
QuoteThe flag is controversial in some Asian countries, mainly in South Korea, North Korea and China, as well as among Allied World War II veterans (mainly in Australia), where it is associated with Japanese war crimes, the Axis powers, and Japanese militarism and imperialism.
The Unification Church symbol (https://ym.familyfed.org/sunday-school-resources/2018/4/19/aim-to-understand-that-the-church-grew-because-the-members-made-indemnity-conditions) - scroll down. You can see it below the Moonie crossword puzzle.
(http://peterdaley.net//images/strangerthings/moonies/ucsymbol.png)
Second up, some history regarding the related matter of large "donations":
September 16, 1984: Moon's Japanese Profits Bolster Efforts in US (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/profit.htm) (The Washington Post)
QuoteThe Japanese branch of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church has transferred at least $800 million over the past nine years into the United States to finance the church's political activities and business operations, including The Washington Times newspaper, according to two former high-ranking church officials. This money is generated in Japan, primarily through a Tokyo-based business operation that uses church members to sell marble vases, miniature treasure pagodas and other religious icons that are represented as having supernatural powers, the former officials said. ...
More than 2,600 complaints about the sale of marble vases, ivory seals and minature pagodas of the kind that are often sold by church members were lodged with the Japan Consumer Information Center between 1976 and 1982, according to a report made by the goverment-funded agency. Hundreds of these complaints involved reported cases of intimidation, threats or misrepresentations in which salesmen preyed on the "religious anxieties" of consumers, according to the center's report. The small objects often were portrayed as having mystical powers that could save unhappy marriages, cure illnesses or purge the evil spirits of samurai ancestors, the report said.
The center has published pamphlets to warn consumers about the sales of these items. In one case cited in a center pamphlet, a woman whose husband had just died in an auto accident was being sold one of the objects. The salesman told her the evil spirit of a samurai ancestor who had killed with his sword was tormenting the family. The sale would solve that. "If you don't buy it, the same evil spirit will continue with your children and they will meet the same fate," the salesmen said, according to the pamphlet.
Consumer Center officials cannot directly link such incidents with the church's operations here. The salesmen, Soejima and Inoue said, are instructed never to identify themselves as being with the Unification Church or Happy World."We had orders that, when engaging in economic activity, never say you are a member of the church," Inoue said.
Note to Self: Long, detailed & worth rereading.
August 4, 1996: Widow Pays Church to End Husband's 'Suffering in Hell' (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cult/unification/widow.htm) (The Washington Post)
QuoteTwo months later, the church member told Nakajima that a "very famous teacher" would be speaking nearby and invited her to come hear him. When the widow met the teacher, he began crying and trembling. "Your husband is descending. I can see your husband's body suffering in hell. I cannot stop myself from shaking. Your husband is saying he wants you to donate" $50,000.
This next link, an academic paper, is a very good place to start an exploration of the UC in Japan written 18 years before its practices made headlines following the murder of Shinzo Abe. This calls to mind the title of a fantasy novel by fellow Austalian James Islington that I read a couple of years ago: An Echo Of Things to Come ...
2004: An Illegal Missionary Work Lawsuit and Exit Counseling for Unification Church Members (https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/754/1/CSR_vol3%283%29.pdf) (Dr. Yoshihide Sakurai -Hokkaido University (https://www.let.hokudai.ac.jp/en/staff/sakurai-yoshihide))
QuoteIn the 1970s the Unification Church of Japan extended its activities to politics, academia, and the economy. The International Federation for Victory over Communism was established in 1968 to cooperate with Japanese conservative politicians. This group utilized the manpower of Unification Church members for political and election campaigns, and in exchange some politicians helped defend the Unification Church against social criticism.
The Professors World Peace Academy, established in 1973, also encouraged the mass media and academics to endorse the aims and activities of the Unification Church. At that time the headquarters of the Unification Church and Sun-myung Moon's family moved to the United States and initiated a propaganda campaign. The cost of these activities was supported by the Unification Church of Japan, which began business activities, such as the wellknown selling of flowers and miscellaneous goods.
April 9, 2008: Unification Church Agrees to Pay Woman 230 Million Yen (https://www.religionnewsblog.com/21123/unification-church-6) (Religion News Blog)
QuoteThe woman, 70, from Chiba Prefecture, had demanded about 260 million yen in compensation, claiming the group pushed her to make contributions. She said she was told the reason her husband died of an illness was "because of his fate caused by ancestors' actions." The sum is a record for an out-of-court settlement involving the Unification Church and an individual, the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales said.
Representatives of the Unification Church, a religious group founded in South Korea by the Rev. Sun-myung Moon, initially offered 130 million yen to the woman. But they added about 100 million yen to the sum after the woman indicated she would pursue the responsibility of the education ministry, which oversees religious corporations.
Hiroshi Yamaguchi, a lawyer with the network against spiritual sales, said the Unification Church likely increased the sum out of fear of the ministry. "The Unification Church must be hoping to avoid a possible suspension and other punitive measures," he said.
Spring, 2008: The Next Aum: Religious Violence & New Religious Movements in Twenty-First Century Japan (https://iro.uiowa.edu/esploro/outputs/doctoral/The-next-Aum-religious-violence-and/9983776750902771) Greg Wilkonson, Doctor of Philosophy / University of Iowa) - 236-Page PDF
Confession: I haven't explored this in full yet, but I quote below the abstract, a related tidbit of information about cult apologists, and a couple of paragraphs about the work of lawyers that support victims of cults. All relevent to the Moonies and recent events.
Quote
The violence of Aum Shinrikyō has had four observable consequences for new religious movements in Japan: a change in posture by the Japanese government toward new religious movements, stricter laws and regulations regarding new religious movements and tighter enforcement of those laws, a growing skepticism by the media and scholars towards new religious movements, and increasing skepticism about new religions movements among community groups and the public at large. ...
In 1995, after the subway attack, Aum appealed to the Association of World Academics for Religious Education (AWARE), claiming it was being unfairly targeted by both the government and media. AWARE had often served as a defender of the religious freedom and human rights of individual believers and religious groups around the world. Several U.S. scholars traveled to Japan, under the auspices of AWARE, to investigate possible civil rights violations of arrested Aum adherents. These scholars focused on possible civil rights violations independently of the issue of the guilt or innocence of the Aum leadership for their crimes. The emotionally-charged atmosphere led to further claims that scholars of religious studies were ignorant of Aum's violent nature and would support Aum regardless of the evidence linking it to terrorist attacks. This further damaged the reputation and perceived legitimacy ofreligious scholars, both Western and Japanese. ...
In 1998, the anti-cult movement in Japan created a legal group called the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales 全国霊感商法対策弁護士連絡会 (Zenkoku reikan shōhō taisaku bengoshi renrakukai), and this group of 300 lawyers from across Japan is focused solely on the activities of the Unification Church in Japan. ...
In 2008, this legal group represented a former member of the Unification Church. The network claimed that the church had defrauded the member by convincing her that only by making large donations to the church would the sins of her ancestors be redeemed. The suit is similar to suits brought against several other new religious movements in the post-Aum era. The significant outcome of this suit is that the Unification Church chose to settle for 230 million yen (approximately 2.3 million U.S. dollars, well above the amount the former member made in donations to the group). The settlement was allegedly carried out in order to keep the former member and the network of lawyers from registering complaints or filing suits with the Ministry of Education, the government agency that has oversight over religious groups and decides who gains and keeps religious corporation status.
Related: Aug. 25, 2025: Meet the Shadowy Scholars Supporting England's Doomsday Cult (https://www.gurumag.com/meet-the-shadowy-scholars-supporting-englands-doomsday-cult/) (Be Scofield)
QuoteAnother key cult apologist who defended AROPL at their "Supremacy of God" conference was Gordon Melton. In 1995 he and James Lewis had expenses paid by the Aum Shinrokyo cult to fly to Japan and defend them after the sarin gas subway attack that killed 13 people. They told the press they investigated and that the cult couldn't have produced the sarin gas. They chastised the government for "religious persecution." Just days later, however, the group's poison stockpile that was used was found, leaving the men with proverbial egg on their face.
I met both James and Gordon at a conference organized by the main subject of the above article, Massimo Introvigne. And I also met Holly Folk and Eileen Barker. Gordon and Holly, I quite liked. They were friendly and warm and seem to know their stuff. I can't quite equate my memories of Holly with her comments discrediting former members of cults. Gordon gave a very un-apologist presentation about China's Eastern Lightening cult and numerous instances of violence, which later Massimo, as mentioned on the murder victim's wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Wu_Shuoyan), came to the defense of. James I thought had that annoying mix of arrogance and ignorance. He asked a question at my presentation that absolutely stunned me. The kind of question I would respond with "that's a good question" if it had been asked by an 8-year-old. Eileen, well she just seemed like a friendly English grandmother, but it was clear she was friendly with the Moonie leadership, as was Massimo.
2010: Geopolitical Mission Strategy: The Case of the Unification Church in Japan & Korea (https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/47996/1/Geopolitical%20Mission%20Strategy-1.pdf) (Dr. Yoshihide Sakurai for the Japanese Journal of Religious Studies)
QuoteAs Figure 1 indicates, severe criticism from attorneys and the mass media has made UC members change their methods of fundraising spiritual goods sales since the beginning of the 1990s. Because the UC received the rulings in several courts to compensate the purchasers for damages, they simply asked for more donations and borrowed money from their members and their families. Exploitation was shifted from the general public to their own members. ...
Moreover, the Public Safety Bureau of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department searched camouflaged voluntary groups affiliated with the UC on suspicion of fraudulently-obtained contributions on 18 February 2008. In the same year the prefectural police of Fukuoka and Nagano also searched UC-affiliated companies that were suspected of extorsionary sales of signet and crystal by using the threat of a curse.
2022July 8: Shinzo Abe: Japan Ex-Leader Assassinated While Giving Speech (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62089486) (BBC News)
July 10: Abe's Suspected Killer Led Life of 'Hard Times' Because of Grou (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14665993)p (Asahi Shimbun)
July 12: South Korean Church Known for Mass Weddings in Spotlight After Abe's Killing (https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/south-korean-church-known-for-mass-weddings-in-spotlight-after-abes-killing) (The Straits Times)
QuoteIn Japan, a network of 300 lawyers have sued the church for its controversial practices and urged Japanese politicians including Mr Abe to stop supporting it. In a petition signed last year in response to Mr Abe's speech, the lawyers accused the church of suppressing the human rights of followers, breaking up families, and causing "serious adverse effect" on Japanese society.
"In order for Mr Abe to continue being an active politician, it is not a good idea for him to cooperate with the Unification Church and its affiliated groups and support their events," they said. "We strongly urge you to consider your reputation and do not repeat this kind of action."
During a press conference held on Wednesday, the lawyers said that the Unification Church continues to seek huge donations and sell spiritual items today - even though the Japanese branch had said their attitude towards donations changed after 2009. The lawyers released documents showing that they made 34,537 consultations from 1986 to 2021 regarding monetary losses of about 123.7 billion yen due to large donations or purchase of expensive spiritual items, according to The Asahi Shimbun.
July 12: Unification Church: Murder Suspect's Mother Still a Member (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14667821) (Asahi Shimbun)
July 12: Why Did Abe Appear in a Unification Church Video? (https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/1050672.html) (Chosun Ilbo)
QuoteThe relationship between the Unification Church and Japanese political circles is being all the more highlighted due to the religious movement's enormous success in Japan. Last September, Abe delivered a keynote address at the Rally of Hope event co-hosted by the Universal Peace Federation — a group affiliated with the Unification Church — and the FFWPU via video following their launch ceremony for "Think Tank 2022: Toward Peaceful Reunification of the Korean Peninsula." The event saw other participants along with Abe, such as former US President Donald Trump, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, and former President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso. ...
Abe seems to have made his video address for the Unification Church event due to the long-held ties between the church and right-wing political forces in Japan. Moon Sun-myung (1920-2012), the founder of the Unification Church, reportedly held intimate ties with right-wing Japanese politicians ever since the founding of the Japan chapter of the International Federation for Victory over Communism (IFVOC) in April 1968.
The relationship between the Unification Church and Japanese right-wing political forces can also be seen in the fact that former Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, Abe's maternal grandfather and an ultranationalist within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), visited a Unification Church in Japan in April 1970. Afterward, Kishi reportedly proactively utilized the IFVOC in Japan to garner financial support and build consensus for anti-communist legislation such as the establishment of an anti-espionage act by the LDP in the 1970s.
Hiroshi Yamaguchi, the president of the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales — a team of lawyers who have brought suits for damages against the Unification Church — and a lawyer who wrote the expose concerning the church titled "The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification," pinpointed Kishi and Ryoichi Sasakawa, a former member of the House of Representatives and a Class A war criminal, as key figures who helped the church gain political influence within the LDP during an interview with CBS.
Note: Time Magazine in April 2024 reported that Trump was paid $2.5 million for the above. (https://time.com/6961050/unification-church-ffwp-moonies-us-election)
QuoteToday, the mainstream Unification Church and its splinters compete for endorsement from the American right. Dunkley's leaked Zoom call also revealed a ramping up of political influence operations in "America centering on the work of the Washington Times."
On Aug. 12, 2022, former CIA director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich addressed a Unification Church-front Universal Peace Federation (UPF) event in Seoul to mark the 10th anniversary of Moon's death. Trump, meanwhile, sent a video message that described Moon as a "true inspiration" and Hak Ja Han as a "amazing and wonderful woman." According to financial records, Trump received around $2.5 million to make that and two other video appearances between 2021 and 2022, while former Vice President Mike Pence was paid $550,000 for speaking at a UPF event. In May, Trump sent another video message to a UPF event.
Strait says the Unification Church leadership twists such paid endorsement "as proof of the divinity of mission" to coerce more donations from its members. The effect is circular: the more donations the church can solicit, the more it can spend on attracting high profile patronage, which it then leverages to attract more donations.
Related: What Is a 'Class-A War Criminal'? More on the Yasukuni Controversy (https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/what-is-a-class-a-war-criminal-more-on-the-yasukuni-controversy/283004/) (The Atlantic - January 11, 2014)
Quote"Class-A War Criminal" had a very specific meaning in the context of the Tokyo trials. "Class-A" war crimes were defined as "crimes against peace". Crimes against humanity, such as genocide or the Nanking massacre were "Class-C" crimes while the more usual war crimes, such as shooting helpless prisoners, were "Class-B" war crimes.
The 25 Japanese officials tried for Class-A war crimes were tried for plotting and waging war, i.e. crimes against peace. Some of them were tried additionally for Class-B and Class-C crimes, and all those multiply convicted were executed. But at least two of those charged with Class-A crimes resumed civilian life, in the Japanese cabinet in the 1950s and as the CEO of Nissan, respectively.
July 12: What is Unification Church & Why is It Controversial? (https://www.koreaherald.com/article/2911093) (The Korean Herald)
July 12: How Abe & Japan Became Vital to Moon's Unification Church (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/07/12/unification-church-japan-shinzo-abe/) (The Washington Post)
QuoteRepresentatives for Trump, Pompeo, and Gingrich did not respond to Insider's queries about why they appeared at the conference and what compensation they received.
July 13: We Were Wrong to Forget About the Moonies (https://web.archive.org/web/20220718183637/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/07/13/wrong-forget-moonies/) (The Telegraph/Internet Archive)
QuoteElgen Strait, who was born into the Moonies in the US in the early Eighties, but now hosts a podcast in which he rails against the church's sinister and bullying behaviour, is sceptical.
"There's a concept that runs throughout the entire organisation that says your spiritual standing is directly impacted by the amount of money you give," he says. "In the US you're meant to give 10 per cent of your pre-tax income every month. In Japan, it's 30 per cent. But that's just to start with."
On top of this, further donations are expected, he says, in order to "liberate your ancestors" and for a multitude of other "spiritual reasons". Ancestor liberation ceremonies are held to "promote ancestors in the spiritual world" (Dr Chryssides' words); or, as the late Rev Moon put it, to "completely change the lineage of all human beings back into God's lineage, as completely ideal sons and daughters" because "most of your ancestors have actually gone to hell". Liberating them can cost up to hundreds of dollars.
July 13: Problems Over Money Continue at Unification Church: Lawyers (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14668795) (Asahi Shimbun)
QuoteIn 2021, the group held an online event dubbed the "Rally of Hope" and its star-studded lineup, mainly consisting of conservative politicians, stunned many. The list of speakers included former US President Donald Trump, former Japanese PM Abe and current Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
July 13: Lawyers in Japan say Unification Church Lying About not Extorting Donations from Followers (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220713/p2a/00m/0na/008000c) (Mainichi Shimbun)
July 13: Trump Allegedly Has Close Ties with Unification Church Which Caused the Assassination of Shinzo Abe (https://inp.polri.go.id/artikel/trump-allegedly-has-close-ties-with-unification-church-which-caused-the-assassination-of-shinzo-abe) (Indonesian National Police)
QuoteAs reported by The Straits Times, Abe became the first foreign leader to meet Trump when he won the 2016 US presidential election. The second meeting is said to have occurred because it was assisted by the Unification Church. According to Japanese magazine Shincho 45, the Unification Church helped mediate the meeting between Abe and Trump at the time. The Unification Church is even said to have close relations with many conservative politicians not only in South Korea, but also in Japan and the US.
July 14: Relative - Mother of Abe Murder Suspect Donated 100 Million Yen (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14669722) (Asahi Shimbun)
QuoteThe organization on July 13 released a statement to the media that said, "Although we still haven't figured out the exact amount (of the donations from Yamagami's mother), 50 million yen was returned to her for the period of 10 years from 2005."
Comment: Since she's still a member, I wonder what she did with that money if it really was returned? I have a feeling her family didn't see any of that.
July 19: More Victims Can Be Expected if The Cult of UC is Connived With to Continue Its Criminal Activities: Japanese lawyer (https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202207/1270943.shtml) (Global Times)
QuoteThe so-called spiritual sales take advantage of people's religious beliefs and anxiety to sell seals, rosary beads and pagodas at high prices by stirring up people's minds with common hoaxes. For example, they say that the ghosts of their ancestors can haunt them and that their families can suffer from misfortune. The Unification Church is the most representative spiritual sales group in Japan with 30 million yen (over $217,000) in sales of the so-called holy book to its worshippers. The lawyers' association was founded to help Japanese worshippers of the Unification Church resolve legal disputes.
July 19: Unification Church claims Its Members Face Death Threats Over Abe's Death (https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/foreignaffairs/20220719/unification-church-claims-its-members-face-death-threats-over-abes-death) (The Korea Times)
QuoteThe Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, better known as the Unification Church, claimed that the church and its members in Japan faced death threats and hate crimes following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The threats were reactions to "abusive" donation practices of the church, founded by self-claimed messiah Moon Sun-myung in 1954 in Seoul. ...
In a statement released on Monday, the church's headquarters in Korea blamed media outlets for what it called "inaccurate and biased" news reports, following a news conference hosted by a group of Japanese lawyers on July 12 that it claims triggered a raft of hostile media coverage against it.
Since then, the church noted that several media reports have been produced solely based on comments from the members of the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales of Japan, a group that represents former Unification Church members and their families.
"Due to these unbalanced media reports, not only our church but also our members were seriously defamed and their human rights were undermined. The media coverage is also feared to spur hate crimes against our members," the church said in a statement. "Our church's branches all across Japan have received numerous phone calls from people who threatened to kill our members. On our website, hate messages have been uploaded as well." Ahn Ho-yeol, head of the public relations department of the Unification Church in Korea, pointed to anti-Korean far-rightists in Japan as the ones behind the death threats. ...
"In Japan, media outlets are not interested in human rights violations and hate crimes and they heavily focused on producing stories highlighting the church's donation practice," he said, explaining why the church's headquarters circulated the press release to Korean reporters and foreign journalists based in Seoul. The Unification Church accused the Japanese lawyers of spreading "misinformation."
The Japanese lawyers apparently portrayed the Unification Church as being evil and described Yamagami and his mother as victims of the church's exploitative donation practices. "With these scathing remarks, they tried to justify the terrorist act that killed Abe," the church said.
It's the Unification Church's second official press release regarding the assassination of Abe and its fallout on the church following a previous one released on July 11....
Hiroshi Yamaguchi, a lawyer for the group, was quoted as saying by the Japan Times that Yamagami's act, which took the life of the former prime minister, was simply barbaric and can never be forgiven."But if reports about his motive ― that his mother's large donations to the Unification Church led to the family's collapse and made him vengeful ― are true, then we can understand how much pain he must have suffered due to his mother's action," he said.
On Tuesday, Kwak Chung-hwan, the former president of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification who was once called the No. 2 man of the church when its founder was alive, urged the church and its members to repent for the aftermath of the assassination of Abe. "I was shocked by the news that the suspect targeted Abe because he held a grudge against the Unification Church," he said during a news conference held at Hotel Koreana in central Seoul. "I had been in several different leadership posts in the church for a long time, so I thought I am partially responsible for his death. I offer my sincere apologies."
Kwak said the assassination of Abe is a chilling reminder of the derailed Unification Church and encouraged its current leaders to repent and offer apologies to the Japanese public as well as other nations. Kwak is the father-in-law of Moon Hyun-jin, the son of the church's founder. ...
July 22: Politicians' Ties to Unification Church Should be Made Public (Editorial) (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14676617) (Asahi Shimbun)
July 25: People Born into Unification Church Speak Out About Hardships (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14678780) (Asahi Shimbun)
QuoteShe came to feel uncomfortable about what her parents continued saying: "Satan is in the outside world." The woman and her parents clashed fiercely when she began seeing a man who had no religious affiliation. Her mother was outraged that her daughter was "tricked by Satan," and even called her boyfriend's home to protest[/b]
July 26: Shinzo Abe's Assassin & Japan's Complicated Spirituality (https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/shinzo-abes-assassin-and-japans-complicated-spirituality) (New Yorker/Internet Archive)
QuoteIn 1992, a pair of Japanese stars announced that they would participate in a mass wedding ceremony in Seoul, South Korea. One was a pop singer and actress by the name of Junko Sakurada; the other, an Olympic gymnast named Hiroko Yamasaki. Shortly thereafter, they married Japanese grooms handpicked by Sun Myung Moon. The media derided the pair as "pandas on display," a jab referring to the way that zoos rely on the most adorable animals to draw in crowds, and used the situation to report more broadly on the Unification Church's activities in Japan.
Yamasaki broke with the church the following year, in a tearful public press conference. In a 1994 memoir, she alleged being subjected to brainwashing and being persuaded to donate money and purchase expensive religious items. In a press conference held shortly after Abe's assassination, a group called the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales, which helps people victimized by religious groups, disclosed that more than thirty-five thousand complaints involving problematic donations to the Unification Church had been lodged in Japan during the past three and a half decades, totalling 123.7 billion yen, or about 900 million U.S. dollars.
Aug. 1: Revelations Since Shinzo Abe Death Shed Light on Moonies' Influence (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/01/revelations-shinzo-abe-death-unification-church-moonies-political-influence-japan) (The Guardian)
Aug. 3: Name Change by Unification Church a Baffling Issue Years Later (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14686350) (Asahi Shimbun)
Aug. 10: Unification Church Pushes Back Against 'Abusive' Media Reports in Wake of Shinzo Abe Assassination (https://web.archive.org/web/20220810223520/https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/aug/10/unification-church-pushes-back-against-abusive-med/) (The Washington Times/Internet Archive)
Quote"We strongly condemn the fake news and abusive language disseminated by a heartless media, which as hate speech, encourages religious discrimination, undermines the rights of individuals and, if anything, violates people's freedom of religion," he said.
Aug. 16: Church Ties Cited in 40% of Senior Administrative Position (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14696223) (Asahi Shimbun)
Aug. 17: Bonds Between LDP, Unification Church Date Back Half A Century (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14693688) (Asahi Shimbun)
Aug. 16: Japanese Donations Likely Funded Unification Church Projects in North Korea (https://www.nknews.org/2022/08/japanese-donations-likely-funded-unification-church-projects-in-north-korea/) (NK News)
Aug. 19: Unification Church Protest in South Korea Targets Japanese Media (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14698580) (Asahi Shimbun)
Aug. 20: Donald Trump & Mike Pompeo spoke at a 'Moonies'-Affiliated Event, Despite Japan Controversy (https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-pompeo-appear-at-moonies-linked-event-despite-japan-assassination-2022-8) (Business Insider)
Sept. 13: Unification Church & $210 mil. Annual Donation Target in Japan: Ex-Top Official (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220913/p2a/00m/0na/018000c) (Mainichi Shimbun)
QuoteA former senior official of the Unification Church, who belonged to the religious group's headquarters for around 20 years before leaving in 2017, told the Mainichi Shimbun that the group set an annual target of collecting donations in Japan totaling around 30 billion yen (about $210 million), which put immense pressure on followers to meet quotas.
Masaue Sakurai, 48, was the deputy director of the family education bureau at the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, better known by its former name, the Unification Church. He responded to a Mainichi Shimbun inquiry in a rare case where a former executive exposed the group's internal affairs while revealing their real name. Sakurai condemned the group's stance, stating, "The group's methods clearly went against social morality, and the collection of donations through coercion continued even after 2009, which is when the group claimed it enforced adherence to laws and regulations."
2022 Cont.Sept. 21: Shinzo Abe: Man Sets Himself Alight in Protest at State Funeral for Killed Japan PM (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/21/shinzo-abe-man-sets-himself-alight-in-protest-at-state-funeral-for-killed-japan-pm) (The Guardian)
Sept. 23: Unification Church Says it Accepted 'Excessive' Donations from Mother of Suspect in Abe killing (https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/23/unification-church-says-it-accepted-excessive-donations-from-mother-of-suspect-in-abe-killing) (The Guardian)
QuoteThe church has acknowledged that Yamagami's mother donated more than 100m yen, including life insurance and real estate, to the group. It said it later returned about half at the request of the suspect's uncle. A church lawyer, Nobuya Fukumoto, said he considered the donations by Yamagami's mother "excessive", and that "we have to take it seriously if that tormented [the suspect] and led to the outcome". ...
A party survey found nearly half of its lawmakers had ties to the church. The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has pledged to cut all such ties, but many Japanese want a further explanation of how the church may have influenced party policies.
Sept. 28: Predatory Cult: The Shadow of Unification Church Over Abe's Funeral (https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/predatory-cult-shadow-unification-church-over-abe-s-funeral) (The Interpreter)
Sept. 29: Japan's Lower House Chief Admits Links With Dubious Religious Group (https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/36176) (Kyodo News)
Oct. 1: Hotline to Stay for Victims of Unification Church Scams (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14732558) (Asahi Shimbun)
QuoteOne caller said, "A family member who belongs to the church had to file for bankruptcy after donating in excess of 100 million yen ($691,000). We want to get the money back." ... Thirteen percent of the calls touched upon problems among family members while 8 percent were about psychological problems.Of the calls related to money problems, 48 percent were made by relatives, while 24 percent came from former members and 7 percent from current members. About 30 percent of all calls were about so-called spiritual sales tactics in which the individual felt coerced to purchase expensive items or make hefty donations. When asked when the most recent payments were made to the church, 37 percent of the callers said more than 20 years ago, while 18 percent said within the past year.
Oct. 7: Unification Church Tries to Derail Ex-Believer's Press Conference (https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/36526) (Kyodo News)
QuoteThe controversial Unification Church on Friday attempted to stop a former believer's press conference by sending a message purportedly signed by her parents, but she pressed ahead and spoke out on alleged abuses that she and other believers endured at its hands.
In a summarized version of the faxed message read out during the event, Sayuri Ogawa's parents called for the press conference to be halted immediately, saying their daughter has a "tendency to lie," and the psychiatric issues she said she suffers had worsened since a gunman killed former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
At the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, which hosted the event, Ogawa, who uses a pseudonym to protect her real identity, relayed her traumatic experiences as a so-called second-generation church believer. ...
Born and raised in the church, founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon and often labeled by critics as a cult, Ogawa said that after graduating from high school, she was sexually harassed by a public minister during a retreat. The woman said that at the retreat, she was also told she was "possessed by an evil spirit" and subsequently sent to a facility in South Korea for a supposed exorcism.
Ogawa said the contradictory practices of the church and her witnessing other believers suffer mental breakdowns impacted her own stability, leading to her being hospitalized in a psychiatric ward.
An emotional Ogawa also said she grew up in financial difficulty, with her parents making frequent donations to the church. She said her family confiscated 2 million yen ($14,000) that she had saved by working a part-time job, adding the money has not been returned.
Oct. 15: The Dark Shadow Cast by Moon Sun Myung's Unification Church & Abe Shinzo (https://apjjf.org/2022/17/mcgill) Asia Pacific Journal
QuoteIn 1984, the Washington Post was told by two renegade former officials of the Unification Church in Japan that from 1975 to 1984 it had transferred at least US$800 million to the United States, to finance a myriad of the cult's businesses, publications, and political operations, including the money-draining Washington Times newspaper.
Most of the money came from gullible and superstitious Japanese who were peddled marble vases, ivory seals, and miniature pagodas said to have miraculous powers, along with ginseng teas, at vastly inflated prices. Japanese members of the cult were given sales quotas requiring them to transfer to the United States about $2.5 million a month earmarked for the Washington Times, which lost an estimated $150 million in its first two-and-a-half years of operation, according to Soejima Yoshikazu.
Soejima had been editor of the cult's Japanese newspaper, Sekai Nippo, but was fired on Moon's orders for attempting editorial independence. A gang of toughs from the Unification Church, led by members of the affiliated anti-communist group Kokusai Shokyo Rengo, ransacked the newspaper office, and beat him up, according to Soejima. Then in June 1984, Soejima was attacked outside his Tokyo home and repeatedly stabbed. At the time, he had been preparing an article critical of Moon for Bungei Shunju magazine.
In 1987, the Asahi calculated there had been 15,000 complaints since 1980 of Japanese citizens being defrauded by Unification Church members, through total purchases amounting to ¥317 billion. A national network of lawyers to combat reikan shoho (霊感商法, selling of spiritual goods) was set up.
Oct. 19: UC Tries But Fails to Silence Farmer in Kochi (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14746513) (Asahi Shimbun)
QuoteA farmer in Kochi Prefecture who blames the Unification Church for the breakup of his family said a church leader made an unwelcomed visit to tell him to stop talking to the media. Tatsuo Hashida, 64, said the senior official, Hideyuki Teshigawara, would not leave the home even after a phone call to the police was made. "I don't want you to be on the mass media anymore," Hashida quoted Teshigawara as telling him.
Oct. 17: Ex-Unification Church Executive Reveals Quotas For Donations (https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/crime-courts/20221017-65106/) (The Yomiyuri Shimbun)
QuoteSakurai said there are several types of contributions, such as monthly offerings where a follower pays one-tenth of his or her income when attending religious services, so-called "blessing contributions" for marriages, and special contributions.
For special contributions, the church sets a target period and monetary amount to be collected, and allocates quotas to each of its prefecture-based districts according to the number of followers. General members of the group are not informed of the quota, and executives ask for donations in person or by fax, Sakurai said. Around 2000, a teaching called "ancestor liberation," which was not previously in the group's doctrine, began to spread within the church.
A former member of the church, now in her 60s and living in the Kanto region, told The Yomiuri Shimbun that she paid a total of ¥2.8 million five years ago in exchange for "liberating" seven generations of her and her husband's ancestors. She was told she needed to liberate their ancestors going back 420 generations, and she in fact made contributions that exceeded ¥5 million to liberate up to the 28th generation of their ancestors.
Oct. 24: Japan Minister Steps Down Over Allegations of Links to Cult Being Probed for Shinzo Abe's Murder (https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/japan-minister-accused-of-having-links-with-unification-church-resigns-2289034-2022-10-24) (India Today/Reuters)
Oct. 28: People Born into UC Seek Law To Prevent Abuse (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14754314) (Asahi Shimbun)
Quote"We have been told that (public authorities) cannot intervene with issues involving a religion," one individual said at the news conference. "We urge the government to treat abuse cases involving religions and beliefs in the same way as other abuse cases." Second-generation former followers said they have been forced to undertake certain activities or follow a specific religion against their will. They said they have suffered both physical and mental abuse form the religious groups, and that instilling fear is a common method used by the organizations to get their way. But the former followers said child consultation centers and other public organizations have turned them away when they sought help, citing "religious issues."
Nov. 8: Japan PM Promises Law to Help Unification Church Victims (https://thediplomat.com/2022/11/japan-pm-promises-law-to-help-unification-church-victims/) (The Diplomat)
Nov. 24: What is The Unification Church & How Will Japan's Probe Affect it? (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14776225) (Asahi Shimbun)
Dec. 2: In Japan, Unification Church Scandal Stains Integrity of Ruling Party (https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2022/1115/In-Japan-Unification-Church-scandal-stains-integrity-of-ruling-party) (Christian Science Monitor)
QuoteJapanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said Tuesday he will speed up the drafting and passage of a law to regulate the collection of donations by religious groups and protect families of believers after he met with victims of the Unification Church and was heartbroken by their "horrendous experiences."
Dec. 10: Unification Church Claims Abuse as it Faces More Questions (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14789761) (Asahi Shimbun)
Dec. 10: Japan Passes Funds Law Amid 'Cult-Like' Church Controversy (https://www.dw.com/en/japan-passes-funds-law-amid-cult-like-church-controversy/a-64055591) (DW)
QuoteThe new law, approved at this year's closing parliamentary session, bans religious and other groups from using coercion or threats to solicit funds from followers. Many Unification Church followers claim they were forced to join, left in poverty, or neglected because of their parents' devotion to the group.
2023Jan. 10: How Shinzo Abe's Murder & His Ties to Moonies Blindsided Japanese Politics (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/10/how-shinzo-abe-ties-to-moonies-unification-church-blindsided-japanese-politics) (The Guardian)
Feb. 23: Ex-Followers Seek 1.6 Billion Yen from UC (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14846503) (Asahi Shimbun)
March 8: Who Are 'the Moonies' & How is The UC Linked to Shinzo Abe's Murder (SBS Dateline)
March 16: In the Grip of the Unification Church: The Story of a Former Second-Generation Follower (https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/c12102/) (Nippon)
QuoteThe woman's parents had an arranged marriage and wed in a mass weddings Moon presided over. This made the woman one of what the UC calls the "blessed second generation," who according to UC teachings are born free of original sin and so occupy a special presence within the movement. ...
The woman tells how her parents placed the UC before everything else, even family. "From the time I was a small child, my mother would be away from home for six months at a time doing missionary work overseas," she says, adding that while in elementary school she was made to go on some of these trips abroad. Her father, a local leader in the UC, was involved in church activities from morning until night. "We were never able to build a normal parent-child relationship."
As an adolescent, she began to worry that her parents planned for her to "receive a blessing," language used in the UC to mean a marriage between church members, and give birth to children who would be third-generation followers. When her suspicions proved true, she says she finally realized that her life was being controlled by others, filling her with hopelessness. ...
"I waited for a time when my parents were busy doing work for the church," she describes. "Then I grabbed my suitcase and left." She traveled to another prefecture where an aunt and uncle lived, but her parents quickly learned her whereabouts. "They told my aunt and uncle—who were only trying to protect me—that they should commit suicide. They said they would take me back home to re-educate me because I had become a devil." Sensing real danger, she lived on the run for a time, but her parents never relented. "They followed me and even had the police bring me home on one occasion." ...
Today, the woman is severely critical of the UC. "What kind of a church champions the value of family harmony while at the same time leaving me no choice but to cut ties with my own parents? How many other children have they hurt the same way? There is no doubt in my mind that the UC is a criminal organization that disregards the rights of children. Followers need to wise up to this truth."
May 21: Solidarity With Japanese Ex-Moonies & Responce to Cult Apologists (https://medium.com/politics-discourse/solidarity-with-japanese-ex-moonies-be7e97d172ca) (Medium - Former American Member)
Note: This is one of the best articles about the surrounding issues and the "defences" used by cult apologists
July 13: Lucrative Speaking Fees for Donald & Melania Trump Revealed in Revised Personal Financial Disclosure Filing (https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/13/politics/trump-revised-financial-disclosure-speaking-fees) (CNN)
QuoteA revised personal financial disclosure filing from former President Donald Trump made public Thursday offered new details about the roughly $1 billion that he appears to have earned in his post-presidential life, including lucrative speaking engagements by Trump and his wife, along with more specifics about his foreign business ventures.
Trump, who leads polls for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, was paid a total of $2 million for speaking at two Universal Peace Federation World Summits in Bedminster, New Jersey, and Palm Beach, Florida. The group was established by the late Rev. Sun-myung Moon, the Korean evangelist and businessman who founded the Unification Church, and his wife, Hak-ja Han.
Oct. 13: Japan Seeks Court Order to Strip Unification Church of Legal Status in Country (https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/1112036.html) (Hankyoreh)
Oct. 26: Unification Church-Linked Group Paid Trump $2.5 mil. for Video Messages (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231026/p2a/00m/0na/003000c) (Mainichi)
QuoteFormer U.S. President Donald Trump received some $2.5 million from the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), a Unification Church affiliated group, to make video appearances on three occasions between 2021 and 2022, while former Vice President Mike Pence was paid $550,000 for speaking at a UPF event, the Mainichi Shimbun has confirmed by acquiring U.S. official records and checking them with court documents in Japan.
Meanwhile, the UPF has maintained that the group didn't pay former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who made a video appearance at its event in September 2021. If this is true, we must question why Abe agreed to speak for the event free of charge. In the video, Abe said he "highly appreciated" the Unification Church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, for its efforts to "place importance on the value of family." This video appearance is believed to have been one of the triggers for his assassination in July 2022.
2024Jan. 19: Gov't Panel Compiles Measures To Help Japan's UC Victims (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240119/p2a/00m/0na/007000c) (Mainichi Shimbun)
QuoteThe panel compiled support measures based on the testimonies of former believers and the children they raised, known as second-generation followers. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, who chaired the meeting, stated the government's intent to further enhance support for those who were victimized by the group, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.
The measures will include training courses led by ex-believers and second-generation followers aimed at helping consultation service providers understand victims' feelings, job search support for second-generation followers with low income, and services such as school counseling for their children.
Feb. 10: Editorial: Moriyama Unfit As Japan Culture Minister After UC Ties Emerge (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240210/p2a/00m/0op/007000c) (Mainichi Shimbun)
Feb. 19: 37 Consultation Requests Made By Kids Regarding UC Worries (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240217/p2a/00m/0na/018000c) (Mainichi Shimbun)
QuoteKazunori Yamanoi. The government said that as of the end of January there were 24 cases of children seeking advice from school counsellors, and 13 where they called a Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology support line with worries relating to the group, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.
By topic and with multiple selections possible, 24 cases involved the home environment -- the most common concern -- and five consultations from junior high students were about stopping going to school. More than one case with high school counselors involved physical and mental health, academic choices and other points.
In November 2022, the education ministry asked prefectural education boards and others to implement guidance services regarding the Unification Church. This was so that schools would not respond passively to students' problems just because they were religious in nature.
March 27: Japan Court Imposes Fine on Unification Church (https://www.ucanews.com/news/japan-court-imposes-fine-on-unification-church/104593) (UCA News)
QuoteA trial court in Japan has imposed a fine on the Unification Church for failing to respond to some of the questions related to its controversial collection of hefty donations from its members. Tomihiro Tanaka, president of the Unification Church in Japan, was fined 100,000 Yen (around US$660) on March 26 for failing to answer more than 100 of some 500 questions, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) reported.
June 19: Psychiatric Exam Finds Ex-Japan PM Abe Shooter Mentally Fit (https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/48590) (Kyodo News)
July 6: Only 8% of Religious Group Followers' Children Back Government Remedy Steps (https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/48997) (Kyodo News)
QuoteIn the survey, conducted in May and June with responses from 120 family members of avid followers of the Unification Church, Jehovah's Witnesses and other religious groups, 89 percent said they had been abused by their families and other relatives.
The survey also showed that 72 percent of respondents experienced hardship from people outside their families because of their faith, such as being bullied at school or denied access to higher education, underscoring a lack of adequate relief measures for them. ...
A total of 107 out of the 120 respondents said they had been abused by their families. Examples are forced adherence to faiths through threats of not paying school fees, restrictions imposed on who they can marry, physical violence, bloodshed, and whipping.
July 8: Two Years After Fatal Shooting of Abe, Unification Church Issues Remain (https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/49112) (Kyodo News)
QuoteMonday marks two years since former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot, while issues related to the Unification Church and the plight of "second-generation" members of religious groups that drew attention afterward remain unsolved.
In the wake of the incident, the Japanese parliament enacted a law to ban maliciously solicited donations, while the government has requested the Tokyo District Court to issue an order to dissolve the Unification Church over donation solicitation practices.
Dissolution would deprive the group, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, of its tax benefits as a religious corporation, although the organization could still continue its activities in Japan.
Second-generation members say they are still struggling with the impact of being born into a family of avid followers, such as being denied access to higher education or employment. But the government's steps to provide remedies, including the implementation of the law to ban malicious solicitation of donations, are not enough, they said.
July 11: Top Court Rules That Pledge Not to Sue Unification Church is Invalid (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15342155) (Asahi Shimbun)
QuoteThe Supreme Court on July 11 ruled that a statement written by a former follower of the Unification Church promising not to seek compensation from the group is invalid, opening the door to her daughter pursuing damages. ...
In this lawsuit, the eldest daughter of a former Unification Church follower, who is deceased, is seeking 65.8 million yen ($407,000) in damages from the church and a church follower who solicited her mother to donate. The daughter, who is in her 60s, stated that the church and the follower "made her mother to donate money by stoking her anxiety that she would be unhappy if she did not donate."
July 11: Top Court Rules Unification Church No-Refund Document Invalid (https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/48689) (Kyodo News)
QuoteJapan's top court on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling that had absolved the Unification Church from returning donations to the family of a late former member, deeming that a document the woman signed preventing her from seeking refunds was invalid.
In the first ruling by the Supreme Court on donations to the religious group, its First Petty Bench sent the case back to the Tokyo High Court, citing insufficient examination of whether the organization had acted illegally.
The woman's family is seeking around 65 million yen ($402,000) in damages from the group. Many other members are known to have signed and submitted similar documents to the Unification Church, which has been under renewed scrutiny since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated, allegedly by the disgruntled son of a member.
"If the way donations are solicited significantly deviates from societal norms, it is appropriate to deem it illegal," the court said, referring to circumstances where donors are unable to make informed decisions.
August 27: Unification Church Hit With Fresh Fines for Impeding Government Inquiry (https://english.kyodonews.net/articles/-/49532) (Kyodo News)
QuoteA Japanese court on Tuesday fined the Unification Church with a 100,000 yen ($690) penalty for refusing to respond to the government's inquiry into its alleged illegal donation solicitations. Upholding a lower court decision, the Tokyo High Court rejected the controversial religious organization's appeal. The group has come under renewed public scrutiny after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot in July 2022 during an election stump speech over his perceived links to the church.
Oct. 7: Ex-Staffer Details How Unification Church Backed an LDP Candidate (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15456404) (Asahi Shimbun)
QuoteAt the meeting, it was agreed that the religious groups would support the LDP candidates in the proportional representation section of the Upper House election.
The subsequent efforts that the religious groups made in supporting the LDP's elections has come to light from the man's story. The 43-year-old man who lives in Fukuoka was working in the Fukuoka office of Kitamura when he ran in the Upper House election for the first time in 2013. The man presented numerous documents from the office during the interview. ...
In mid-June 2013, a senior staff member at the office said, "The Federation for World Peace will support us in the election," to other staff members, soon after he returned from a business trip to Tokyo. The man became worried if it was acceptable to agree to the support, because he knew that the religious group was connected with the Unification Church through his experiences with political movements.
2025March 25: Court Orders Unification Church Demise Over Donations (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15682932) (Asahi Shimbun)
QuoteIf the dissolution order is finalized, the group will lose its status as a religious corporation, depriving it of tax benefits such as exemption from corporate tax on income from its religious activities. However, the religious activities themselves, such as faith and proselytizing, will not be prohibited.
March 26: Court Wary of Future Harm from Unification Church, Deems Illegal Donations Were Systemic, Prolonged (https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20250326-245387/) (The Japan News/Yomuri Shimbun)
QuoteWith the harm caused by the Unification Church amounting to more than ¥20 billion over four decades, the Tokyo District Court focused on the scale of the damage and deemed that the organization systematically solicited illegal donations when it ordered the church's dissolution on Tuesday. ...
"The harm caused by the Unification Church accumulated over a long period of time and affected a wide range of people, which must have led to the impression that the group's characteristic of tolerating illegal acts has not changed," a veteran judge said about Tuesday's decision. ...
The district court acknowledged the ministry's assertion that over ¥20 billion in damage occurred over a 40-year period, with most of it inflicted as part of the Unification Church's religious activities. The court then concluded that it "can be said that in terms of societal norms, these were acts of the religious organization." A veteran judge said, "With this many serious illegal acts presented, a court can't disregard them just because they weren't criminal cases."
March 27: What is The Unification Church & Why Does it Face Dissolution in Japan? (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-27/what-is-the-unification-church-moonies-dissolution-japan/105100904) (ABC Australia)
QuoteDr Jeffrey Hall from Kanda University of International Studies told the ABC's The World program the Liberal Democratic Party was still dealing with the fallout. "More than half of the party was involved in some way, be it attending church events or relying on volunteers from the church, or appearing in church-sponsored publications," Mr Hall said.
Donald Trump, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush all had links with the organisation at some stage. Former prime minster Abe had spoken at a church-affiliated event previously. Donald Trump did too before coming US leader. "It's said that Donald Trump received more than $US2 million to speak at some of their events," Mr Hall said. "They [politicians] lent credibility to the church and thus helped the church to raise money ... and convince people, or the people's families that, 'we're not a shady organisation, it's OK to give lots of money to us — look, Donald Trump is speaking on our behalf," he said.
March 27: Editorial: Relief for Victims of Unification Church Remains a Top Priority (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15685429) (Asahi Shimbun)
March 27: Head of Japan's UC Vows to Fight Loss of Legal Protections (https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/head-japans-unification-church-vows-fight-loss-legal-protections-2025-03-27/) (Reuters)
QuoteThe head of the Unification Church's Japan branch vowed to fight a court order revoking its legal protections, following a scandal over fundraising practices and links to the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Tomihiro Tanaka, the Japanese president of the group now known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, told reporters on Thursday the group had settled all cases of damages levelled against it and the court's order was an attack on religious freedom.
This marks the third time a Japanese court has acted to dissolve a religious corporation due to legal breaches, according to public broadcaster NHK. The first two involved Aum Shinrikyo, a cult that carried out a fatal sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway 30 years ago, and a temple group involved in fraud, NHK said.
April 14: In the Shadow of a Murder: Religious Freedom Vs the Social Good in Japan (https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2025/04/14/in-the-shadow-of-a-murder-religious-freedom-versus-the-social-good-in-japan/) (Professor Roy Starrs (https://www.otago.ac.nz/languagescultures/people/associate-professor-roy-starrs), PhD. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs)
QuoteThe assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe exposed unexpected ties between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Unification Church, a global religious organization founded in South Korea and notorious for its abusive practices. The incident reignited one of Japan's most controversial debates: the intersection of politics and religion. This article examines the historical instances of collusion between the state and church in Japan, analyzing how these dynamics played a role in Shinzō Abe's assassination. It argues that Japanese lawmakers must take steps to sever ties with such religious organizations, in accordance with the country's post-war Constitution. Additionally, it calls for clearer legislation to both protect and compensate victims of religious abuse while balancing the delicate task of preserving religious freedom and regulating harmful religious practices.
May 3: The Unification Church Dissolution & Japan's Evolving Religious Governance (https://eastasiaforum.org/2025/05/03/the-unification-church-dissolution-and-japans-evolving-religious-governance/) (East Asia Forum)
June 2: Opinion - Japan Needs anti-SLAPP Laws As Journalist Sued by UC Affiliates (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250530/p2a/00m/0op/035000c) (Mainichi Shimbun)
2025 Cont.July 24: Second-Gen. of UC Members in Japan Sue for 320 Million Yen in Damages (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250724/p2a/00m/0na/017000c) (Mainichi Shimbun)
QuoteThese "second-generation" members claim that their parents prevented them from making free decisions and caused them severe psychological harm. The plaintiffs hold the church responsible rather than their parents, arguing that the parents' actions were strongly influenced by the church's teachings.
According to the plaintiffs' attorney, this is believed to be the first class action by second-generation members. The plaintiffs argue, "The church instructed parents to prioritize religious practice over the human rights of their children, severely distorting the environment in which the second generation grew up. These children suffered abusive acts that violated their rights to freedom of religion and marriage, among others."
July 31: Unification Church Land Seized for Donation Refunds (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15939637) (Asahi Shimbun)
QuoteThe Tokyo District Court issued the ruling on July 18 in response to a request by 10 women in their 50s to 80s who are former members of the religious organization. The women claim to have collectively lost 227 million yen ($1.52 million) to the former Unification Church, through what they describe as exploitative donation extraction practices. ...
The land, located in the upscale Shoto district, is estimated to have roughly the same value as what the 10 women are seeking in damages. The women's legal team warned of a growing risk that the group could hide or transfer assets, since the government-ordered dissolution of the church could be finalized as early as this year.
"Given the high risk of asset concealment, securing the land where the headquarters stands—a symbol of the organization—is highly significant," lead attorney Susumu Murakoshi said at the news conference.
Sept. 22: Defense Team to Claim 'Religious Abuse' Prompted Abe's Slaying (https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/photo/63443872) (Asahi Shimbun)
Oct. 1: UN Experts Concerned by Continued Stigmatisation of Religious Minorities (https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/japan-un-experts-concerned-continued-stigmatisation-religious-minorities) (UN Human Rights Office)
Quote"While the pamphlets highlighted important information about child abuse and offered a highly valuable line of contact between young people and the State regarding their human rights, it is disappointing that the pamphlets appear to target some practices and activities, especially those of Jehovah's Witnesses," the experts said. "Rather than protecting children who belong to religion or belief minorities, these materials risk contributing to their bullying and marginalisation," they said. Consultations with civil society and minorities in relation to the "Q&A on Responses to Child Abuse Related to Religious Beliefs, etc." ("Q&A Guidelines"), can help address these discriminatory concerns, they said.
Oct. 2: First Arbitration Concludes With Unification Church To Pay Victims (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251002/p2g/00m/0na/048000c) (Mainichi Shimbun)
QuoteThe arbitration case filed with the Tokyo District Court was one of over 180 cases brought by victims seeking around 6 billion yen over the issue, which came to light following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 by a man who claimed to hold a grudge against the church due to its aggressive fundraising.
The group of attorneys known as Lawyers from Across Japan for the Victims of the Unification Church began arbitration proceedings in July 2023, following the church's refusal to engage in collective bargaining over the matter.
A woman who was swindled out of around 36 million yen by the church said that she "hopes other victims will reach a resolution soon," adding that she had been frustrated by the deception.
Oct. 3: Unification Church Reaches Settlement with 3 Former Followers (https://www.ntv.co.jp/englishnews/articles/2021iyyt9bojlioxyiw2.html) (Nippon TV)
QuoteThese are the first settlements reached in a group mediation involving about 190 former members and others seeking damages totaling more than 5.9 billion yen. Lawyers from across Japan for the Victims of the Unification Church said the three former followers are women in their 80s. The lawyers' group said the development opens the possibility of relief for many other victims.
Oct. 3: Japan Court to Deliver Ruling on Ex-PM Abe's Shooter in January (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251003/p2g/00m/0na/014000c) (Mainichi Shimbun)
Oct. 22: A Son's Anger & A Mother's Faith: The Family History Behind The Abe Shooting Suspect (https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20251021/p2a/00m/0na/012000c) (Mainichi Shimbun)
Oct. 22: Former PM Shinzo Abe Killer's Mother to Testify in Court (https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/crime-courts/20251022-288012/) (The Japan News/Yomuri Shimbun)
QuoteThe mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, indicted for killing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a handmade gun in Nara in 2022, will go to court as a defense witness, it was learned Wednesday. ...
The defense witnesses include the mother, who went into personal bankruptcy after donating a total of around ¥100 million to the religious cult, his younger sister and a religion scholar well versed in the issue of massive donations to cults and their spiritual sales.