Japan to investigate Unification Church linked to former premier Shinzo Abe’s death

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday ordered an investigation into the Unification Church after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe brought to light ties between the sect and ruling party politicians. .

Kishida instructed Education and Culture Minister Keiko Nagaoka to prepare an inquiry into the cult under the Religious Corporations Act. “I want to resolve church-related issues,” the prime minister told parliament, adding that the investigation was due to begin this year.

The sect has been in the spotlight since the disclosure that Abe’s killer was motivated to commit the crime out of resentment against this faith, accused of pressuring its members to make large cash donations.

According to the killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, his mother went bankrupt because of her tithing. According to Japanese media, she sold her house and land more than two decades ago to make a donation of around US$700,000. The Unification Church states that all donations are voluntary.

Yamagami also blamed Abe for promoting the church. The former prime minister even participated as a paid speaker in one of the many events organized by the religious group.

After Abe’s death in July, nearly half of the deputies of the LDP (Liberal Democrat Party), the acronym to which he was linked and currently in power, disclosed connections with the Unification Church. Kishida said Monday he had no personal relationship with the sect, and the LDP also said it had no organizational ties to the cult.

Kishida added that he is taking allegations that the church has left many followers impoverished seriously. “The government will clarify the situation, offer relief measures to victims and take steps to prevent a similar situation from happening again,” he said. According to him, the administration has received more than 1,700 requests for help with financial and mental health issues related to the sect.

Responsible for the investigation, the Minister of Culture said that the dissolution of the church should be an option for investigators, if facts are found that justify the measure. This would strip the congregation of tax-exempt religious organization status.

Support for Kishida’s government is at its lowest level since he took office a year ago, amid growing public outrage over LPD members hiding their ties to the church. The prime minister apologized that many supporters were linked to the cult – which he said had undermined public confidence in his administration.

Religious group with millionaire businesses, the Unification Church was founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon. It’s a variation on Christian theology based on the idea that, in sinning, Adam and Eve failed in the divine plan — and that the world needs a new messiah who would be Moon himself.

The cult has the family as a cornerstone of society and spiritual development, which is why it attaches great importance to marriage — and, in fact, is known worldwide for organizing large collective weddings.

From South Korea, this institution moved to Japan and, at the end of the 1950s, it began to move to the West. He managed to establish himself in the United States, where Moon lived in the 1970s, and since the 1980s he has been present in several Latin American countries, especially Brazil.

The Unification Church is known for its ability to raise funds, a task in which it has been very successful in Japan, where, according to experts, about 70% of the funds it manages, estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, originate. .

Critics have for years vilified the church as dangerous and questioned the origins of finance.

The church says it no longer accepts donations that cause financial hardship for followers. It also reports that its members have faced death threats since Abe’s murder in July.

Moon died in 2012. His widow, Hak Ja Han, took over as head of the church.