Stranger Things

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.

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 UC does have its explanation and reasoning for the flag. But I just can't unsee the similarity no matter how hard I try.

The Unification Church symbol - scroll down. You can see it below the crossword puzzle.


Here are early origins from the early 1950s of the liberating ancestors concept which is at the heart of many of the "spiritual sales" scandals and the dissolution order upheld by Tokyo's High Court.

1999: Sun Myung Moon, The Early Years, 1920-53 (Michael Breen/True Parents Website)

Chapter 2, Page 30:

QuoteAs his faith developed, a nascent desire to free the world from suffering crystallized within him. Around him he saw material hardship and spiritual suffering. People were not joyful or fulfilled. At the ancestral shrine on the hill above the village he wondered about his ancestors and felt that they, too, had suffered, and that their spirits still suffered. Death did not bring perfection. In the spiritual world, a man continues as he is in life. His descendants, too, would struggle with the same problems for generations, unless liberated.

Note: Expensive Liberating ancestors is a large part of this group's modus operandi, which is to date one of two Korean groups to have had its religious license revoked.

Related: As reported in July 2022, Breen is writing another book about Moon. I really hope the current scandals haven't scuttled Michael's new book. I'm really curious to read it:

July 16, 2022: Church or Cult? Inside the Moonies' 'World of Delusion' (The Financial Times)

Quote...But while acknowledging the church's many scandals, he rejected its common characterisation as a "cult". "All religions begin as cults — people have always feared these groups because by definition they are radical," said Breen, who is writing his second biography of Moon and remains sympathetic to the movement. "But in my experience, the Moonies are very nice people — and you can leave any time you want."

Now specifically to "fund raising" in Japan and where the money went:

September 16, 1984: Moon's Japanese Profits Bolster Efforts in US (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 US to finance the church's political activities and business operations, including The Washington Times, 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.

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.

Dec. 20, 1987: Seeking Influence, Rev. Moon Spends Big On New Right (Philly - Internet Archive

QuoteIn July, lawyers of the national bar association in Japan uncovered an illegal, church-organized high-presssure sales scheme in which buyers of cheaply made religious artifacts and talismans were bilked out of at least $165 million. And investigators termed that only "the tip of the iceberg."

The sum represented only the total spent by 14,579 known victims between 1980 and 1987, the report said, noting that normally only 1 percent of consumer fraud victims come forward. Purchasers - predominantly "women who have had an accidental death or fatal illness in the family, are widowed or divorced, or have had a miscarriage" - had paid up to $100,000 for stone urns, pagodas and other charms to ward off evil spirits supposedly afflicting them, according to the report.

UC officials in Japan denied any church connection to the scheme and issued a formal statement saying that "the Communist Party, the Socialist Party and other atheists are behind these reports." John Biermans, spokesman for the U.S. Unification Church, acknowledged, after speaking with Japanese church leaders, that individual Japanese Moon followers sold the artifacts, but he insisted there was no official church role.

Buying artifacts to appease ancestors "is a part of the valid spiritual experience of the Unification Church in Japan," he said. And if prices were high, "sometimes healing has to do with how much money you give." Ignored by the Japanese bar, Biermans said, were "the positive experiences. . . . the many people who have experienced miracles around these vases, whose lives were changed, whose health problems went away."

July 26. 1995: Bush Address in Japan Drawing Criticism (UPI)

Aug. 4, 1996: Widow Pays Church to End Husband's 'Suffering in Hell' (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..

From the staunchest non-member supporter of the UC:

From the Unification Church to the Unification Movement, 1994-1999: Five Years of Dramatic Changes (Massimo Introvigne/CESNUR)

QuoteAnother important development has been the repentance movement at Chung Pyung Workshop Centre in South Korea. Chung Pyung had long been a holy ground for the Unification Church, but since 1995 workshops began to liberate Unificationists from evil spirits.

Mrs. Moon's deceased mother, called Dae Mo Nim (Great Mother) by Unificationists, is said to cooperate from the spiritual world with a medium, Mrs. Hyo Nam Kim, who leads the workshops. With the assistance of angels, many spirits are said to be encouraged to leave Unificationists' bodies and go to the spiritual world for a Divine Principle workshop led by Heung Jin-moon, the Reverend and Mrs. Moon's son who died in a car crash in 1984. By the beginning of 1999, over 300 three-day workshops and thirty forty-day workshops have taken place and more than 250,000 members have participated. There are a number of testimonies of miraculous physical healing as well as people claiming to have seen angels or the liberation of resentful spirits from their bodies.

A further development has been the claim of liberation and then education and Blessing of ancestors which has become a regular feature of both the Chung Pyung seminars and Mrs Hyo Nam Kim's visits to other nations. Up until September 1999 the liberation ceremonies were exclusively directed at the first seven generations of members' ancestors on the father's side, with plans for further ceremonies later to liberate up to 120 generations. There are indications that liberation ceremonies for the ancestors on the Mother's side will be available soon.

For blessed members who have had children who have died there is an occasional ceremony to make a connection to their child in the spirit world, where they can grow and mature up to the level at which they can be matched and blessed.

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 & Exit Counseling for UC Members (Dr. Yoshihide Sakurai -Hokkaido University)

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: UC Agrees to Pay Woman 230 Million Yen (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 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 UC and recent events.

Quote

ABSTRACT (Partial)

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 of religious 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 (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.

Note: As far as I know Gordeon Melton opted out of that notorious press conference. 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 and victims of sexual assult. Gordon, on the other hand, 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, has tried to debunk. 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 - and I have found some of her articles interesting as well as a little mystifying, but it was clear she was friendly with the UC leadership, as was Massimo. More about cult apologists here.

2010: Geopolitical Mission Strategy: The Case of the Unification Church in Japan & Korea (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.

2022

July 8: Shinzo Abe: Japan Ex-Leader Assassinated While Giving Speech (BBC News)

July 10: Abe's Suspected Killer Led Life of 'Hard Times' Because of Group (Asahi Shimbun)

July 12: South Korean Church Known for Mass Weddings in Spotlight After Abe's 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 (Asahi Shimbun)

July 12: Why Did Abe Appear in a Unification Church Video? (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.

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 (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.

2022 Cont.

July 12: What is UC & Why is It Controversial? (The Korean Herald)

July 12: How Abe & Japan Became Vital to Moon's UC (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 (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 UC: Lawyers (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 UC Lying About not Extorting Donations from Followers (Mainichi Shimbun)

July 13: 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 (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."

July 15: UC Ex-Member in Japan Opens Up About Dark Past After Mom Became Follower (The Mainichi Shimbun)

Quote"I was at an age where I couldn't live without help from my parents, and it was difficult to reject them," she said. While the Unification Church has explained that "donations are made by followers at their own will," the woman criticized the religious group as being "full of lies."

The woman was a high schooler when her mother began to devote herself to the religious group. Her mother eventually forced her three daughters, including the woman, to follow the Unification Church's "teachings." The woman also began to attend a church establishment, thinking that accepting her mother's beliefs would make her a better daughter.

In 1995, the woman, then aged 21, participated in a mass wedding held by the group. Under the system where the group matched followers who were strangers, the woman married a Korean man who was two years younger than her. After they began living together in Japan, he soon began to assault her, and the abuse continued even after they had a child. Though she wanted to file for divorce, she was told by her mother and other followers that she was at fault because she did "not show enough faith in the religion," and that "a divorce would make Satan happy.

Her second husband was also a Korean man selected by the group, and the woman moved to South Korea. She said the group demanded that she donate 1.4 million yen, or about $10,000. "My partner made false reports about his academic background, occupation, and age. He used my credit cards and other things, and I was forced into personal bankruptcy by my husband," she said.

Afterwards, she was assaulted by the man in front of her mother, and was allowed to divorce him, but remarried after being invited by the group to undergo another "blessing ceremony." The woman said, "The group teaches the doctrine that you cannot go to heaven unless you're a married couple. My mother was saddened that her daughter could not go to heaven. I also had feelings of guilt."

July 15: Abe Murder Suspect Planned Bomb Attack on Religious Leader (Asahi Shimbun)

QuoteThe suspected murderer of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe planned to detonate a bomb at a venue in central Japan where the leader of a religious group was visiting in 2019, investigative sources said.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, told investigators he was unable to enter the venue and gave up on the bombing plan, the sources said. He still wanted to attack the South Korea-based leader of the Unification Church, but pandemic-related travel restrictions imposed in 2020 made another visit to Japan by the leader unlikely, the sources said. Yamagami said that attacking the Unification Church leader was difficult to do, so he shot Abe instead, believing the politician was closely tied to the group, according to the sources.

July 16: Church or Cult? Inside the Moonies' 'World of Delusion' (The Financial Times)

Quote"Ideologically, it was a sort of religious version of communism — we're all one family of mankind, and the idea is to build a unified world," said Michael Breen, a British public relations consultant who was a member of the church between 1978 and 1982. "You felt you were part of something very noble and very wholesome."

But critics accuse church leaders of exploiting members' labour and capital — including billions of dollars transferred from Japan to the US — to build and seed its business empire. ...

"I did all kinds of part-time jobs to donate more money to the church to fulfil a quota for each member for anniversaries and church events," said Lee Young-sun, a Korean former member who runs an organisation assisting victims of the church. "Otherwise, you would be isolated within the organisation and couldn't endure the pressure. They claimed to build a paradise on earth but in reality it was like living in hell." ...

"All religions begin as cults — people have always feared these groups because by definition they are radical," said Breen, who is writing his second biography of Moon and remains sympathetic to the movement. "But in my experience, the Moonies are very nice people — and you can leave any time you want."

July 18: Suspect Willing to Die to 'Liberate' Members of Religious Group (The Asahi Shimbun)

July 19: More Victims Can Be Expected if The Cult of UC is Connived With to Continue Its Criminal Activities: Japanese lawyer (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.

2022 Cont.

July 19: UC Claims Its Members Face Death Threats Over Abe's 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. ...

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 UC Should be Made Public (Editorial) (Asahi Shimbun)

July 25: People Born into UC Speak Out About Hardships (The 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: Politicians Come Out With Dealings With UC (The Asahi Shimbun)

QuoteOn his Twitter account on July 20, former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama also admitted having attended an event hosted by an affiliated group as well as sending a message to the group. "I am deeply sorry for having been involved and regret not having given the matter much consideration," he said. ...

In 2009, the president and other officials with an affiliated company was arrested on suspicion of involvement in shady spiritual sales. The incident led to the resignation of the chairman of the Japanese arm of the Unification Church.

The organization claims it vowed in 2009 to responsibly enforce legal compliance among followers. But Hiroshi Yamaguchi, who leads the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales, a group of lawyers handling issues related to the Unification Church, said, "Problems have continued even after that."

The lawyers' network said that 564 consultations were held over a five-year period until 2021. The total damages the victims suffered came to an estimated 5.4 billion yen over that period. Of the 5.4 billion yen, about 60 percent was associated with donations.

In a lawsuit, the court ordered the Unification Church to pay about 5 million yen in damages to a former follower. The plaintiff complained about having been forced to donate money between 2013 and 2014. "The organization is apparently shifting from spiritual sales to exerting pressure on followers and others to make donations on the pretext of commemorating ancestors," Yamaguchi said.

July 26: Shinzo Abe's Assassin & Japan's 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.

July 26: UC Doctored Telegram by Governor of Aichi (The Asahi Shimbun)

QuoteAichi Governor Hideaki Omura said he has lodged a complaint with the Unification Church after a congratulatory message from his office was doctored so that it praised the group's leader.

The message was sent via telegram--a form of communication still used in Japan to mark ceremonial occasions. The message was read out loud at an event involving the religious organization held in October 2019 in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture. According to Omura, an official at the Unification Church admitted to rewriting his message.

"We created (the text) as we saw fit and read it out (at the event)," the official reportedly told him. The organization has since apologized, but at a news conference called to disclose what had occurred, Omura bristled over the contents of the message being tampered with. ...

Omura explained that he frequently gets requests for telegrams from various organizations.

He said in this instance, he paid for the telegram with his own money and his office sent a straightforward message for the event that read: "I want to extend my congratulations for holding this event and I pray for everyone's health and happiness."

But the organization added in words of praise for its leader when it was read out at the gathering, so that it also said: "I pay my sincere respects to President Hak Ja Han, who coordinates our global environment to achieve world peace, for her strong belief and leadership."

July 30: 'Something's Wrong with Mom': Brush With UC Costs Family 60 mil. Yen (The Mainichi Shimbun)

Quote"Something's wrong with (your) Mom," his father said. When the man visited his parents' home with his older sister and brother, their father opened a bank passbook. It showed a series of figures in the negatives, indicating that money had been borrowed. Over 60 million yen (more than $450,000) had vanished, including the family savings.

Aug. 1: Revelations Since Shinzo Abe Death Shed Light on Moonies' Influence (The Guardian)

Aug. 2: Children of UC Members Seek Freedom From Past Emotional Scars, Prejudice (The Mainichi Shimbun)

QuoteOne of the interviewees, a woman in her 30s, is a so-called "blessed second generation," born to parents who married at a mass wedding of Unification Church followers. She grew up surrounded by items showing her family's devotion to the religious group, such as marble pots and seals, a crystal five-ring pagoda and a portrait of founder Sun Myung Moon -- all apparently bought from the church.

"I'm too scared to ask my family how much money they've donated. But I assume it's several tens of millions of yen (at least $150,000)," she said with a sigh.

"I'd give my parents a zero for parenting. But I have warm feelings for my mother, and I also have this conflicted feeling that I wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for the Unification Church," she confided. "I've been going through my life as if to answer the question, 'What am I here for?'" ...

Note: Worth Reading

Aug. 3: Name Change by UC a Baffling Issue Years Later (Asahi Shimbun)

Aug. 10: UC Pushes Back Against 'Abusive' Media Reports in Wake of Shinzo Abe Assassination (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. 11: Asian Cults & Castes, Where New Religions Meet Power Politics (World Crunch)

Aug. 16: Church Ties Cited in 40% of Senior Administrative Position (Asahi Shimbun)

Aug. 17: Bonds Between LDP, Unification Church Date Back Half A Century (Asahi Shimbun)

Aug. 16: Japanese Donations Likely Funded Unification Church Projects in North Korea (NK News)

Aug. 19: UC Protest in South Korea Targets Japanese Media (Asahi Shimbun)

Aug. 20: Donald Trump & Mike Pompeo Spoke at a 'Moonies'-Affiliated Event, Despite Japan Controversy (Business Insider)

Sept. 13: UC & $210 mil. Annual Donation Target in Japan: Ex-Top Official (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. 16: After Failures in South Korea, 'Heretical' Church Turned to Japan (Asahi Shimbun)

Sept. 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 (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 (The Interpreter)

Sept. 29: Japan's Lower House Chief Admits Links With Dubious Religious Group (Kyodo News)

Sept. 29: UC Lures Gifu Politicians to Events Via BHigwig (The Asahi Shimbun)

QuoteThe church's reach into local politics does not stop at the prefecture's borders. Nearly 300 prefectural assembly members across Japan reported having ties with the organization or its affiliated groups, according to an Asahi Shimbun survey.

But the case in Gifu is illustrative. One LDP member of the prefectural assembly told The Asahi Shimbun that  he was lured by this high-ranking politician's name into attending an event that was, unbeknownst to him, linked to the controversial religious group, now officially called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

Oct. 1: Hotline to Stay for Victims of UC Scams (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 (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.

2022 Cont.

Oct. 15: The Dark Shadow Cast by Moon Sun-myung's UC & Abe Shinzo (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. 17: Ex-UC Executive Reveals Quotas For Donations (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. 19: Japan Police Consulted About UC Some 200 Times in Sept. (Mainichi Shimbun)

QuotePolice across Japan received some 200 consultations about the controversial Unification Church in September, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned from a source affiliated with the police.

These included matters that possibly violate the Penal Code, but no illegal activities have apparently been confirmed at this point. ... Matters that could run counter to the Penal Code included six cases about monetary damage and physical damage, respectively, and five cases of slander.

Oct. 19: UC Tries But Fails to Silence Farmer in Kochi (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.

Note: Hideyuki Teshigawara wrote the following piece about the country the UC hopes to control one day:

Dec. 30, 2013: The Economic System in Cheon Il Guk (Hideyuki Teshigawara/True Parents)

QuoteAs far as I know, there is no one who can explain the concrete system of Cheon Il Guk. But then is it possible to realize something without any clear vision and goal? Even if we have a clear vision and goal, it may be difficult to realize Cheon Il Guk. Obviously, Cheon Il Guk is not the nation that can automatically be built by God's miraculous power.

Note: The "without any clear vision" part is something I noticed and asked leading officials about. Their answer certainly confirmed that they "have no clear vision". More here about Cheon Il Guk.

Oct. 20: The Unification Church Splinters Japan (East Asia Forum)

Oct. 22: Why Japan's Political Moonies Have Staying Power (GZero)

Oct. 24: Japan Minister Steps Down Over Allegations of Links to Cult Being Probed for Shinzo Abe's Murder (India Today/Reuters)

Oct. 28: People Born into UC Seek Law To Prevent Abuse (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."

Oct. 28: The UC & Its Japanese Victims: The Need for "Religious Literacy" (Prof. Sakurai Yoshihide for Nippon)
Note to Self: This is good.

November: Sayuri Ogawa Confronts The UC - & Her Parents – During a Day of Drama at the FCCJ (Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan)

Quote"Since my childhood, no matter what my convictions, I was forced to obey the rules of the church and if I did not respect its instructions, they told me I would go to hell," she said. "I grew up in poverty. At school, I was mistreated because I looked poor. My parents insulted and abused my grandmother, who required nursing care. I also experienced sexual harassment by a church official. The contradictions I witnessed led me to be hospitalized for mental health reasons."

Ogawa also provided comments from other people who had suffered because their relatives were involved in the church. She described how the church functions in Japan, and how it works to ensure that huge amounts of money are sent to its headquarters in South Korea every month.

And then something incredible happened. About 50 minutes into her press conference, I was told that two faxes had arrived at the club. One, in Japanese, had been sent by a lawyer for the church; the other, in English, was from her parents. Both contained more or less the same message. Ogawa, they said, was suffering from "serious mental health disorders, including dissociative identity disorder" that had worsened since Abe's death. This, they continued, had prompted her to make inaccurate statements to the media. The messages warned that Ogawa was at risk of committing crimes such as defamation - hence their determination to silence her. They demanded an immediate end to the FCCJ press conference.

I was shocked by their words. I could not imagine why any parent would want to talk about their own daughter in this way. I never even considered bowing to their demands and halting the press conference. (I learned later that the faxes had been sent before the FCCJ event had started, but that they had not been noticed until later.)

As a journalist, I knew the press conference had to continue. But ultimately, that was not my decision – this was not only a question of freedom of the press and freedom of expression, but a serious personal matter on which only Ogawa could decide. She had been criticized and threatened not only by the church, but also by her own parents. Seated nearby, her very supportive husband offered to explain to the audience the contents of the faxes. I thought, though, that we also needed her agreement before he did so. After a short discussion, she agreed.

After Ogawa told me she would like to continue, I asked another question related to her experiences. By then in tears, she said: "If you believe that I am telling the truth, please dissolve the Unification church. That is all."

I generally try to remain neutral during press conferences, but this time I applauded Ogawa and her brave words. I was also impressed by her commitment - she had not only recounted her own experiences but had also gathered data and testimonials from other people affected by the Unification church.

I have also spoken to several other second-generation followers, who told me how difficult it was to lead a normal life and have a true identity after years of involvement with the church through parents who appeared to have been brainwashed. Are all those people who have spoken out lying? If so, why? I believe they are telling the truth. Ogawa, for example, had absolutely nothing to gain from lying about her experiences.

Nov. 8: Japan PM Promises Law to Help UC Victims (The Diplomat)

Nov. 13: Foreign ministry gave ¥9.55 mil to UC-linked NGO (Japan Today/Internet Archive)

Note: The article on the Japan Today site is expired; hence, the internet archive link, but comments are still visible and worth a read - they don't appear on the archived link)

QuoteJapan's Foreign Ministry said it provided around 9.55 million yen in official development assistance to a nongovernmental organization affiliated with the Unification Church in 2018 to build a women's vocational training school in Senegal.

The decision was made because the ministry wanted "to contribute to the advancement of women in society" and "was not aware that the organization was affiliated with the church," according to Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Hayashi, who made the revelation at a House of Representatives foreign affairs committee meeting Friday in response to questioning by the Japanese Communist Party's Keiji Kokuta, added that an investigation will be launched to determine if there were any other similar cases. ...

A meeting last month revealed that the ministry had presented a Foreign Minister's Commendation to the director of a school operated by the women's organization in Mozambique. But the commendation was rescinded after it was found that the director had engaged in missionary work for the church at the school.

Nov. 24: What is The Unification Church & How Will Japan's Probe Affect it? (Asahi Shimbun)

Dec. 2: 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 (Asahi Shimbun)

Dec. 10: Japan Passes Funds Law Amid 'Cult-Like' Church Controversy (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.

Dec. 10: New Japan Law Aims at UC Fundraising Abuses (Associated Press)

QuoteThe new law, approved at this year's closing parliamentary session, allows believers, other donors and their families to seek the return of their money and prohibits religious groups and other organizations from soliciting funds by coercion, threats or linking donations to spiritual salvation.

2023

Jan. 10: How Shinzo Abe's Murder & His Ties to Moonies Blindsided Japanese Politics (The Guardian)

Feb. 23: Ex-Followers Seek 1.6 Billion Yen from UC (Asahi Shimbun)

March 2: Hatoyama, Fukuda Declined Invites to Church event in Seoul (The Asahi Shimbun)

QuoteOfficials of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), which is affiliated with the Unification Church, asked Yukio Hatoyama, the first prime minister from the Democratic Party of Japan in 2009, to attend a UPF event in 2019, church sources said.

A year earlier, Yasuo Fukuda, a Liberal Democratic Party prime minister for one year from 2007, was also asked to attend the UPF event planned for Seoul.

Both Hatoyama and Fukuda told The Asahi Shimbun that they rejected the invites because the Unification Church, now formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, was in the news over its suspicious methods in obtaining huge donations from followers. ...

In response to questions from The Asahi Shimbun, Hatoyama said he was asked a number of times in 2019 to attend the UPF event. When he declined, a church official said the sky was the limit for an appearance fee. Although no specific amount was specified, Hatoyama said he still refused.

March 3. An Unholy Alliance: How the UC Penetrated Japan's Ruling Liberal Democratic Party (Nippon)

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 (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."

April 17: Unification Church Founder Entered Japan Aided by LDP Official (The Japan News)

QuoteDiplomatic documents newly released by South Korea's foreign ministry have revealed that Unification Church-founder Sun Myung Moon was allowed to enter Japan in 1992 through the intervention of Shin Kanemaru, then vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party. Moon, whose church is formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, had served a prison sentence in the United States for tax evasion, would not have been allowed entry into Japan under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law.

The documents suggest that Kanemaru, who was eager to normalize Japan-North Korea relations, provided special consideration to Moon, who had deep connections with influential LDP figures and was a conduit to North Korea.

May 3: An Unholy Alliance: How the UC Penetrated Japan's Ruling Liberal Democratic Party (Nippon)

QuoteThe current furor over the Unification Church, officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, is nothing new. The organization has been dogged by controversy since its inception. As early as the 1960s, the Japanese media took notice of the UC's activities, particularly the group's recruitment of university students, leading the Asahi Shimbun to label it in 1967 a "fundamentalist movement that makes parents weep." In the 1980s, the UC came under fire for so-called spiritual sales in which it conned followers and others of money by persuading them to buy exorbitantly priced goods like seals and urns. The organization drew further public suspicion in the 1990s for squeezing members for huge donations and conducting mass wedding ceremonies, the latter becoming news when a popular Japanese singer took part in the bizarre ritual.

The latest controversy revolves around the UC currying favor with members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and other legislators. The organization is no stranger to influence buying, as demonstrated by its involvement in the 1976 US political scandal "Koreagate." The affair centered on wealthy South Korean businessman Park Tong-sun, who funneled money to various members of the US Congress, but the UC was a core player, a fact that has largely been forgotten.

May 21: Solidarity With Japanese Ex-Moonies & Responce to Cult Apologists (Medium - Former American Member)
Note: This is one of the best articles about the surrounding issues and the "defences" used by cult apologists.

2023 Cont.

July: The UC Scandal Has Put The Japanese Right in an Uncomfortable Position (Peter McGill for The Foreign Correspondents' Club Of Japan)

QuoteThe former editor of the cult's Japanese newspaper, Sekai Nippo, blew the whistle on sales quotas given to Japanese cult followers to support the money-losing Washington Times. Fired on Moon's orders, he was beaten up by toughs from the Moonie-affiliated anti-communist group Kokusai Shokyo Rengo, and then repeatedly stabbed outside his home while preparing an article critical of Moon for Bungei Shunju.

July 4: UC-Related Japan NGO to Sue Lawyers' Group for 'Defamation' (The Mainichi)

July 13: Lucrative Speaking Fees for Donald & Melania Trump Revealed in Revised Personal Financial Disclosure Filing (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 (Hankyoreh)

Oct. 14: Children of Unification Church Members Welcome Dissolution; Impacts on Religious Freedom Concerns (The Japan News)

QuoteSecond-generation family members of followers of the scandal-plagued Unification Church have hailed the government's decision to seek a court order to dissolve the organization. Some religious groups, however, have voiced concerns that the move could impinge on religious freedom.

"We're finally standing on the start line," said a woman in her 30s whose parents are members of the church, at a press conference in Tokyo on Thursday. "I hope society as a whole will deliver relief to the victims and continue to be strongly concerned about how the religious organization operates."...

The group offers support and advice to second-generation family members, and it reportedly still receives many complaints from people who are "struggling to get by" and "want to die" after family members made large donations to the church.

"Seeking a court order to dissolve the organization hasn't resolved all the problems. I want the government to establish a framework that can extend a helping hand to people who are in distress," the woman said.

The government's decision was also welcomed by Tatsuo Hashida, whose former wife is a follower of the Unification Church. She made large donations to the group which wrecked their family and reportedly led to their oldest son taking his own life. "I've come this far while constantly thinking about my son," said Hashida, 65, from Kochi Prefecture. "I'm just so grateful" that the government has taken this step.

Oct. 14: Shinzo Abe Assassination: The True Power in Japan of Cult the UC (South China Morning Post/Internet Archive)
Note to Self: Explore further former member and current member comments for other threads.

QuoteIn retrospect, Abe's relationship with the Unification Church looks exactly like the political landmine it turned out to be. Yamaguchi and his lawyers' group wrote repeatedly over the years to politicians in the LDP and other parties, urging them to cut ties with the Moonies.

Abe himself may have recognised the risks. In 2003, a Japanese journalist named Yoshifu Arita, who had written about the Unification Church, appeared on a television talk show alongside Abe, then a senior LDP lawmaker.

Arita, who later served in parliament with a party opposed to the LDP, tells me that during a commercial break he asked Abe if the Moonies had ever approached him. Abe said yes, they were very persistent about it, and he tried to avoid them. Abe's ambitions appear to have changed his mind.

Oct. 17: UC Slams Japan's Dissolution Request as a Threat to Religious Freedom (The Mainichi)

Oct. 19: Journalist Suzuki Eito & His Battle Against the Former UC (Nippon)

Quote"Most publications completely ignored me," recalls Suzuki. "The editors would say things like 'that politician has no name value' or 'the former Unification Church isn't a hot topic.' I had to endure that kind of treatment for a very long time."

Oct. 26: Unification Church-Linked Group Paid Trump $2.5 mil. for Video Messages (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.

Nov. 10: The Abe Assassination & Political Power: Journalist Arita Yoshifu on Religion & Politics (Nippon)

QuoteArita has been covering the Unification Church since the late 1980s. His reporting subsequently led the Asahi Journal tabloid to mount a campaign to shut down the church's "spiritual sales" of goods claimed to hold miraculous efficacy.

"The church originally raised money by selling flowers, handkerchiefs, and socks, but that never generated significant revenue, so they shifted to miracle-working trinkets in the late 1970s," explains Arita.

The objects claimed to have supernatural powers included urns, miniature pagodas, seals, pendants, and rings. The church sold these knick-knacks for dozens of times more than they were worth. When Ariyoshi's articles were published, his exposés made him a target for attacks.

"I received numerous phone calls with nobody speaking on the other end, and I was frequently followed. One day, a man came up to me on the subway steps, punched me, and said 'remember my face.' I received threatening letters in which razor blades had been concealed in such a way as to cut the person opening them," he reveals.

Dec. 5: Former US Head of UC Attended Kishida Meeting (The Asahi Shimbun)

QuoteA former leader of the Unification Church's U.S. branch sat in on a meeting in Tokyo in 2019 between future Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, sources said.

Michael Jenkins visited Kishida, who was the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's policy chief at the time, with Gingrich at the party's headquarters on Oct. 4, 2019, the sources said.

2024

Jan. 19: Gov't Panel Compiles Measures To Help Japan's UC Victims (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. 7: Editorial - Japan Education Minister's Ties to UC Demands Renewed LDP Probe (The Mainichi)

Feb. 10: Editorial: Moriyama Unfit As Japan Culture Minister After UC Ties Emerge (Mainichi Shimbun)

Feb. 19: 37 Consultation Requests Made By Kids Regarding UC Worries (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 (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.

March 28: Six Linked to Church Attended Kishida-Gingrich Meeting in 2019 (The Asahi Shimbun)

QuoteA bevy of people connected to the Unification Church accompanied former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich during his visit to future Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in 2019 in Tokyo. All but two of the eight-member contingent had ties to the church, The Asahi Shimbun has learned. ...

Gingrich visited Kishida on Oct. 4, 2019, at the headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo along with Michael Jenkins, the current president of UPF International. Jenkins was president of the U.S. branch of the Unification Church between 2000 and 2009. Masayoshi Kajikuri, chairman of UPF Japan, was also in attendance, Gingrich said. Kishida was the LDP's policy chief at the time. The meeting was arranged by UPF Japan, according to Gingrich. Gingrich is known for his close ties to the UPF, having spoken at several of the organization's large-scale gatherings.

June 19: Psychiatric Exam Finds Ex-Japan PM Abe Shooter Mentally Fit (Kyodo News)

2024 Cont.

July 6: Only 8% of Religious Group Followers' Children Back Government Remedy Steps (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 (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 (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 (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.

Aug. 27: Unification Church Hit With Fresh Fines for Impeding Government Inquiry (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 (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.

Nov. 28: How Will the Unification Church Scandal Pan Out? (Nippon)

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Jan. 10: Why Are There So Many Cults in Japan? (Japan Today)

QuoteSocietal upheaval and social turmoil have played major roles in the development of cults in Japan. A few major cults originated in the 1860s during the violent Bakumatsu period, right before the Meiji restoration. However, the past century has seen a major development in the number of new religions, or "cults," in Japan.

Experts suggest that the end of emperor worship and the abolition of State Shinto after WWII created a spiritual vacuum in Japan. The Allied occupation also reshaped Japan's government, lifting censorship on religious organizations and granting them tax exemptions. During the economic boom of the 1970s and 1980s, growing alienation from an increasingly materialistic society drove many Japanese people toward new religions, leading to the rise of more cults and gurus.

In recent years, the number of new members joining these new religions has increased while attendance at traditional places of worship like Buddhist temples has declined. Today, there are about 183,000 officially registered religions in Japan, and about 2,000 of them have a substantial following. Some are not even religions at all but cover for organized crime or tax evasion. It is estimated that 10 to 20 percent of Japan's population is connected to one of these new religions. ...

Although Abe was not a member of the Unification Church, he appeared remotely as a speaker at a church event in 2021. Additionally, his grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, is believed to have cultivated ties with the church due to their shared anti-communist ideology. Following Abe's assassination, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida launched an investigation into the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). It revealed that nearly half of its lawmakers (179 out of 379) had some form of connection to the Unification Church.

March 25: Court Orders Unification Church Demise Over Donations (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: UC Victims Voice Joy Over Stripping of Group's Legal Status (The Japan Times)

QuoteA woman in her 30s whose father is still a believer said that he and her mother, a former believer, have donated at least several tens of millions of yen to the Unification Church. "It wasn't an organization that should have received tax benefits as a religious corporation," she said, expressing her happiness with the order.

A man in his 60s whose wife is a former follower of the group called Tuesday's court order "a milestone." Noting that some people are likely to continue to believe the teachings of the Unification Church even after it loses its status as a religious corporation, he said, "I hope the families of believers will raise their voices and seek help, including from public consultation services."

Tatsuo Hashida, 67, who leads a group of victims and their supporters in Kochi Prefecture, said his former wife donated ¥100 million ($665,000) to the Unification Church. "The order is no surprise," Hashida told a news conference in the city of Kochi. "I knew how bad (the Unification Church) was, so I believed the order would be issued."

March 26: Court Wary of Future Harm from Unification Church, Deems Illegal Donations Were Systemic, Prolonged (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? (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 (Asahi Shimbun)

March 27: Head of Japan's UC Vows to Fight Loss of Legal Protections (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.

March 28: Japan's UC Leader Hits Out at Dissolution Order (Union of Catholic Education News)

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April 8: UC to Defy Order in Japan to Dissolve With Mass Wedding (Korea JoongAng Daily)

QuoteThe Unification Church will stand strong against the "religious oppression" of the Japanese judiciary and marry off 5,000 couples this weekend, the Korean church's leader said Tuesday.

April 8: Hokkaido Group Set as Recipient of UC Assets (The Japan Times)

QuoteThe Unification Church designated 16 years ago a religious corporation in Hokkaido as the recipient of its assets in case it is disbanded. A group of lawyers working to help victims of the Unification Church fear that the possible transfer of assets may enable the effective continuation of its religious activities and give rise to new damage.

The 2009 decision immediately followed a police raid on a Unification Church facility after believers were arrested by Tokyo police over the high-priced sale of seals.

April 14: In the Shadow of a Murder: Religious Freedom Vs the Social Good in Japan (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.

April 23: 'Happiness, Love' at Moonie Mass Wedding After Japanese Court Blow (France 24)

QuoteSince the 1960s, the church is believed to have generated as much as 80 percent of its global revenues from Japan, according to Levi McLaughlin, a religious studies professor at North Carolina State University. During Japan's 1980s bubble economy, its branch reportedly sent up to 10 billion yen ($70 million) per month to the South Korean headquarters.

Japanese followers are told to "atone" for the country's colonial past, and McLaughlin told AFP the mass weddings have been framed as a form of "indemnity". The church plays a role in match-making couples, experts say, with Japanese women often matched with non-Japanese men -- and critics slam the cult-like cutting of family ties that sometimes results.

May 3: The UC Dissolution & Japan's Evolving Religious Governance (East Asia Forum)

June 2: Opinion - Japan Needs anti-SLAPP Laws As Journalist Sued by UC Affiliates (Mainichi Shimbun)

July 24: Second-Gen. of UC Members in Japan Sue for 320 Million Yen in Damages (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: UC Land Seized for Donation Refunds (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 (Asahi Shimbun)