TOKYO: The Japanese government has asked a court to order the dissolution of a church that was under investigation following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Abe’s shock killing last July targeted the Unification Church, more popularly known as the “Moonies”.
His attacker, Tetsuya Yamagami, said the church bankrupted his mother and accused Abe of supporting her.
The church says it has been unfairly vilified over Abe’s murder, according to BBC.
The investigation, ordered by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, took a year.
In the event of dissolution, the Unification Church will lose its tax benefits, but will still be able to function as an organization.
Yamagami claimed that his mother was forced to donate to the church where she had been a member for three decades. Similar allegations have been the subject of multi-million dollar lawsuits.
According to Japan’s Religious Corporations Law, a religious order can be dissolved if its actions are “clearly recognized as substantially harmful to the public welfare.”
Japan’s education ministry earlier asked the Tokyo District Court to fine the church for failing to respond to questions about its activities.
Shinzo Abe’s relationship with Church
Abe’s relationship with the church was the subject of much speculation before his death, particularly on social media.
He appeared remotely as a speaker at a church event in 2021. His grandfather – also a former prime minister – is said to have been close to the church because of its anti-communist stance.
The Unification Church was founded in South Korea in 1954 and is known for organizing mass weddings. Its members are more commonly known as the ‘Moonies’, after its late founder Sun Myung Moon.
It entered Japan in the 1960s and cultivated ties with politicians to gain popularity and reputation, researchers say.
The church has been mired in controversy for years, with critics describing it as “cult-like”.
It has faced several lawsuits from members who claim they were forced to donate to the church. Their lawyers say the plaintiffs have lost at least 5.4 billion yen ($39 million; £33 million) over the past five years.
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An internal investigation into incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party found that 179 of its 379 lawmakers collaborated with the Unification Church.
Mr. Kishida subsequently ordered LDP lawmakers to cut ties with the Unification Church and also stressed that he had no personal ties to the group.
Last October, he ordered an investigation into the church – after previously resisting calls to do so – and said he “takes seriously” allegations that the church exploited its followers for money.
The power of the “highly problematic” church could be greatly reduced, said Professor Yoshihide Sakurai of Hokkaido University, who has written a book on the Unification Church and is an expert on cult issues.
The public will be wary of it, while politicians will find it scandalous, Professor Sakurai said.
But the group still has dozens of affiliated political and business organizations, including newspaper companies, travel agencies and retailers, and their operations cannot be stopped by a court order, he said.
Professor Sakurai said the court does not even need to issue a dissolution order.
“Tens of thousands of followers still claim that they joined the church out of their own choice and continue to participate in its activities. Since the victim and the followers exist simultaneously, it will be quite difficult for the court to find an organization that is completely criminal,” he said.
