Japanese Court Orders Dissolution of Unification Church
Tokyo, March 25 (Jiji Press)--A Japanese court on Tuesday ordered the dissolution of the Unification Church, saying unjust donation-soliciting activities by members of the religious group caused unprecedentedly large damage.
Kenya Suzuki, presiding judge at Tokyo District Court, accepted the claims made by the culture ministry to seek the disbandment of the group formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.
It was the first ever court decision to disband a religious group for committing illegal acts under the Civil Code. The Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult was ordered to dissolve after its senior figures were found criminally liable over incidents, including a deadly sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995.
The Unification Church plans to appeal Tuesday's decision to Tokyo High Court. The dissolution order will come into effect if the high court upholds the district court decision, making the group lose its status as a religious corporation.
While the Unification Church can continue religious activities under this scenario, it will have to dispose of its assets, including facilities of worship, and will become ineligible for tax breaks.
The religious corporations law stipulates that a court can order a religious corporation to disband if the group is found to have engaged in acts that clearly violate laws and regulations and seriously harm public welfare, or if it seriously deviates from its purpose as a religious organization.
Suzuki, the district court judge, said that unlawful solicitation of donations by members of the religious group was "carried out nationwide over a long period of about 40 years."
He said that 1,559 people fell prey to the Unification Church's tactics, with the total amount taken reaching about 20.4 billion yen.
In 2009, the Unification Church vowed to strengthen its compliance with laws and regulations, but the judge said that its illegal activities have continued since then, causing damage that cannot be overlooked.
As the method of soliciting donations was vicious and there were many people who have been seriously affected for a long time, the Unification Church's activities seriously harm public welfare, he said.
The judge said it is extremely inappropriate to allow the Unification Church to keep the status of a religious corporation and that its dissolution is necessary, because soliciting donations is the practice of its religious doctrines and that donations that the group receives are eligible for tax benefits permitted for religious corporations.
The alleged perpetrator in the July 2022 shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami, 44, has said that he was motivated by his grudge against the Unification Church, of which his mother was a believer. This raised public awareness over the issue of massive donations and shed light on the ties between the religious group and Japanese politicians.
The culture ministry in October 2023 asked the district court to order the Unification Church to dissolve. The court held hearings behind closed doors four times for testimonies by current and former believers.
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