Japan Press Weekly

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2022 October 19 - 25 [POLITICS]

JCP demands removal of religious corporation status for Unification Church

Japanese Communist Party representative Miyamoto Toru at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting on October 18 demanded that the government immediately strip the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (the former Unification Church or the Moonies) of its religious corporation status in order to prevent further damage caused by the cult.

Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, however, showed his reluctance to issue the order.

Miyamoto asked if PM Kishida knows that the organization has been robbing and sending people's assets to its headquarters in South Korea. Kishida answered, "From media reports, I have learned about cash remittances to South Korea."

Miyamoto criticized Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers who have a relationship with the Moonies for receiving help from the antisocial cult in election campaigns in exchange for boosting the prestige of the Moonies. Miyamoto said that according to sources close to former PM Abe, it was Abe himself who handled the allocation of Moonies' votes to LDP candidates in the Upper House proportional representation election last July. Miyamoto added, "The LDP received systematic support from the cult in the Upper House election. The party should give full details about and reflect on that."

Miyamoto emphasized the need to probe thoroughly into allegations that the government had given favors to the Moonies in return for their election support.

In the 2014 court-mediated settlement, the government promised the plaintiff, victims of the Moonies, that it will reform the religious administration. However, up to this day, no reform has been made. Not only that, the relevant government agency the following year approved the Moonies' name change which was long rejected previous to the Abe government.

Miyamoto said, "Why is it that the agency in charge of religious affairs changed the rejection decision? Once you stated that the LDP will cut its connection with the Moonies, the government must conduct a thorough investigation into the allegations."