Japan Court Orders the Moonies to Dissolve (Abe Assassination and Unification Church)
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
The assassination of Shinzo Abe, the former leader of Japan, continues to rumble concerning religious freedom and the need to protect people. Hence, soul searching continues within the legal and political system.
Abe was brutally assassinated by Tetsuya Yamagami in 2022 (his mother was exploited by the Moonies – Unification Church).
Yamagami linked Abe (in his twisted logic) with the Moonies. This concerns his family life, which had been destroyed by this religious group.
The Guardian reports, “Yamagami had targeted Abe, he told police, because he believed the politician was a supporter of the church, which he blamed for destroying his family after his mother, a follower, donated more than 100m yen (£627,000) to the group two decades earlier.”
Yamagami said Nobusuke Kishi “Invited the church (to Japan from South Korea). So I killed (his grandson) Abe.”
The Japanese Court just announced that the Moonies will be stripped of official recognition. Accordingly, this heretical church, founded in South Korea, will no longer be exempt from tax. Therefore, the Moonies are being forced to liquidate assets (immediately).
It is expected that the Moonies will repeal the decision by the Tokyo District Court.
Deutsche Welle reports, “Japan’s Education Ministry had requested the court to dissolve the Japan chapter of the sect in 2023, citing its fundraising and recruitment tactics that were manipulative and harmful to its followers and their families.”
The BBC reports, “An internal investigation by former prime minister Fumio Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party found that 179 of its 379 lawmakers had interacted with the Unification Church.”
Accordingly, if the Moonies appeal the Tokyo District Court decision, this might unleash further political convulsions.
CNN reports, “The church, which officially calls itself the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, is the first religious group to face a revocation order under Japan’s civil code. Two earlier case involved criminal charges – the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which carried out a sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, and Myokakuji group, whose executives were convicted of fraud.”
Hence, the decision by the Tokyo District Court was very complex concerning the legacy of history and the need to protect religious freedom.
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