The Japanese government announced on Thursday its intention to petition the court to revoke the Unification Church’s legal status as a religion. This action would result in the removal of tax exemptions and impose greater operational challenges for the group in Japan.
The Unification Church had faced significant public opposition in Japan after a tragic incident in which former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in July of the previous year, purportedly due to his alleged connections with the church. Subsequent revelations disclosed that 179 lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had engaged with the church, utilizing its members as volunteers for election campaigns. These revelations led to a decline in public support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, despite his party’s denial of any “systematic relations” with the group.
Education Minister Masahito Moriyama revealed on Thursday that the government intends to file a court request to withdraw the church’s religious status as early as Friday. He emphasized, “It has impinged on people’s freedoms for a long time, prevented them from making sound decisions, severely hurt them, and disrupted their lives.”
In response to inquiries regarding why the government had not taken earlier action against the Unification Church, Moriyama cited a surge in public concern following Abe’s death as the catalyst for their investigation.
The Unification Church expressed deep regret over the government’s decision, characterizing it as based on biased information from a left-wing group of lawyers known as the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales, which pursues compensation cases against the church.
This group has long advocated for government intervention against the church and called on the LDP to sever its ties with the organization. They estimate that the church raises approximately 10 billion yen ($67 million) annually in Japan.
Founded in South Korea in 1954 by the late Sun Myung Moon, an anti-communist and self-declared messiah who had connections with former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, the Unification Church, now known as The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, has operated in Japan for decades, boasting approximately 100,000 active members.
