Japan Press Weekly

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2022 July 27 - August 2 [POLITICS]

Shii: LDP should fully disclose its ties with Moonies

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on August 1 at a press conference held in the JCP head office severely criticized the Liberal Democratic Party for acting as a billboard for the antisocial "Family Federation for World Peace and Unification", the formerly "Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (also known as the Unification Church or Moonies).

Shii said this when asked by reporters about his views on the LDP-Moonies connection.

The Moonies have caused enormous damage pertaining to their fraudulent sales of costly goods by exerting spiritual pressure to promote so called "spiritual sales", causing more than 100 billion yen in financial damage to individuals and their families, according to the National Lawyers Network against Spiritual Sales. Shii pointed out, "This is just the tip of the iceberg. Real damage assessments could total as much as one trillion yen."

LDP General Council Chair Fukuda Tatsuo the other day said, "I don't exactly see what is wrong (with building links with the Moonies)." Regarding this remark, Shii said, "It's absolutely outrageous. The LDP is cornered and becoming defiant."

Shii criticized Prime Minister Kishida Fumio for diverting attention from the LDP role when he stated, "Individual politicians should make clear their ties (with the Moonies)." He thus put a lid on the scandal and essentially denied party or government responsibility.

Noting that Defense Minister Kishi Nobuo said that he had been aware of the Moonies' spiritual sales, Shii said, "Whether the Kishida government will continue its corrupt relations with the antisocial cult group should be called into question."

Past related article:
> JCP Dietmembers form 'task force team' to reveal Moonies' political maneuvers [July 22, 2022]