August 13, 2022

The reshuffled Cabinet led by Prime Minister Kishida Fumio inaugurated on August 10. On this day, seven Cabinet members admitted to their links with the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Moonies or formerly the Unification Church.

At a press conference held prior to the Cabinet reshuffle, PM Kishida said that he will not nominate lawmakers linked with the Moonies as reshuffled Cabinet members, and replaced the seven members, including Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo and National Public Safety Commission Chair Ninoyu Satoshi, with new appointees. Nevertheless, it has come to light that several new ministers and holdovers in the reshuffled Cabinet have connections with the Moonies.

PM Kishida retained Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa and Economic Revitalization Minister Yamagiwa Taishiro despite their links with the cult group.

The latest media polls show that the general public are demanding a thorough probe into Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers’ cozy ties with the Moonies.

In the Nikkei Shimbun opinion poll, 76% of respondents answered that doubts remain over relations between reshuffled Kishida Cabinet members and the Moonies. In the Yomiuri survey, 55% responded that it was inappropriate for PM Kishida to just call on new Cabinet members to check whether they have links with the Moonies. PM Kishida should fully uncover the truth behind the links with the antisocial cult group and have such ties cut.

The head of the Moonies, Tanaka Tomihiro, on August 10 at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan answered a question regarding the group’s support for the LDP in elections. He said that the group supports the LDP because they have a lot in common in regard to their strong stance on anti-communism.

The LDP and the Moonies are glued together by the ideology of anti-communism, which should be questioned in detail.