Current:Home > NewsUnification Church slams Japan’s dissolution request as a threat to religious freedom-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Unification Church slams Japan’s dissolution request as a threat to religious freedom
View Date:2024-12-23 19:34:43
TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese branch of the Unification Church on Monday criticized the Japanese government’s request for a court order to dissolve the group, saying it’s based on groundless accusations and is a serious threat to religious freedom and human rights of its followers.
Japan’s Education Ministry on Friday asked the Tokyo District Court to revoke the legal status of the Unification Church after a ministry investigation concluded the group for decades has systematically manipulated its followers into donating money, sowing fear and harming their families.
The investigation followed months of public outrage and questions about the group’s fundraising and recruitment tactics after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination last year. The man accused of shooting Abe allegedly was motivated by the former prime minister’s links to the church and blamed it for bankrupting his family.
The government’s request is “extremely disappointing and regrettable,” said the church’s legal affairs department chief, Nobuo Okamura. “We believe the request for a dissolution order is a serious development not only for freedom of religion but also human rights.”
The request asks the court to issue a dissolution order revoking the church’s status as a religious organization. The process involves hearings and appeals from both sides and would take months or possibly years.
A church lawyer, Nobuya Fukumoto, criticized the government for not specifying which law the group violated, and vowed to thoroughly fight it in court.
If the church is stripped of its legal status, it could still operate but would lose its tax exemption privilege as a religious organization and would face financial setbacks. Some experts and lawyers supporting the victims have cautioned against an attempt by the church to hide its assets before a court decision.
The church worries that the rare dissolution request hurts its image, said Susumu Sato, spokesperson for the group, which officially calls itself the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Church officials said followers and their families have been harassed at work and school.
Decades of cozy ties between the church and Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party were revealed since Abe’s assassination and have eroded support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government.
The Unification Church obtained legal status as a religious organization in Japan in the 1960s during an anti-communist movement that was supported by Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.
The church has acknowledged excessive donations but says the problem has been mitigated for more than a decade. It also has pledged further reforms.
Experts say Japanese followers are asked to pay for sins committed by their ancestors during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, and that the majority of the church’s worldwide funding comes from Japan.
The only other religious organizations whose status was revoked are the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which carried out a sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, and the Myokakuji group, whose executives were convicted of fraud.
veryGood! (81)
Related
- Former West Virginia jail officer pleads guilty to civil rights violation in fatal assault on inmate
- Shakira charged for tax evasion again in Spain
- Man serving sentence for attacking parents fails to return to halfway house and considered escapee
- Texas family sues mortuary for allegedly dropping body down flight of stairs
- Taylor Swift gifts 7-year-old '22' hat after promising to meet her when she was a baby
- Target announces nine store closures, cites 'organized retail crime'
- In 'Cassandro,' a gay luchador finds himself, and international fame
- Florida Gov. DeSantis discriminated against Black voters by dismantling congressional district, lawyer argues
- Conviction and 7-year sentence for Alex Murdaugh’s banker overturned in appeal of juror’s dismissal
- Moose on the loose in Stockholm subway creates havoc and is shot dead
Ranking
- Gerry Faust, the former head football coach at Notre Dame, has died at 89
- In a win for Black voters in redistricting case, Alabama to get new congressional lines
- Climate change and the shift to cleaner energy push Southeast Asia to finally start sharing power
- Black Americans express concerns about racist depictions in news media, lack of coverage efforts
- Tesla Cybertruck modifications upgrade EV to a sci-fi police vehicle
- Why You Won't Expect Little Big Town's People's Choice Country Awards Performance
- Could The Big Antitrust Lawsuit End Amazon As We Know It?
- Scottish officials approve UK’s first drug consumption room intended for safer use of illegal drugs
Recommendation
-
Why Jersey Shore's Jenni JWoww Farley May Not Marry Her Fiancé Zack Clayton
-
The Czech government has approved a defense ministry plan to acquire two dozen US F-35 fighter jets
-
USDA expands access to free school breakfast and lunch for more students
-
Britain approves new North Sea oil drilling, delighting the industry but angering critics
-
NBC's hospital sitcom 'St. Denis Medical' might heal you with laughter: Review
-
Japan’s court recognizes more victims of Minamata mercury poisoning and awards them compensation
-
'America's Got Talent' judge Simon Cowell says singer Putri Ariani deserves to win season
-
Liberty's Breanna Stewart edges Sun's Alyssa Thomas to win 2nd WNBA MVP award