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The Mainichi
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Opinion: Japan needs anti-SLAPP laws as journalist sued by Unification Church affiliates
Journalist Eito Suzuki, who has long covered issues related to the Unification Church, now known formally as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, has expressed joy over his recent court victory, saying, "I was given the appropriate judgment." In October 2023, the Japan branch of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), a friendly organization of the Unification Church, filed a defamation lawsuit against Suzuki, claiming damages for statements made on social media. The Tokyo District Court dismissed UPF's claim seeking 11 million yen (about $76,100) on May 14. The posts in question alleged that money was paid to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for sending a video message to an event hosted by the UPF and others but did not specifically name the "UPF Japan branch" as the subject. Suzuki argued that the lawsuit was a "classic SLAPP aimed at suppressing free speech." A SLAPP, which stands for "strategic lawsuit against public participation," is a suit filed with the intent to harass and silence citizens who speak out. The term SLAPP is a play on the word "slap." In February 2022, the United Nations' Working Group on Business and Human Rights identified SLAPP cases as a global issue, warning that they drain citizens' time and energy and violate various human rights, including freedom of expression, assembly and association. According to the group's research, at least 355 SLAPP cases were filed worldwide between January 2015 and May 2021. Latin America accounted for the highest percentage at 39%, followed by Asia-Pacific at 25%. North America, where countermeasures are more advanced, accounted for 9%. In the United States, 32 states have enacted anti-SLAPP laws, and some provinces in Canada have also implemented them. The U.N. working group calls on governments to enact anti-SLAPP laws to prevent harm. It also urges the legal community to thoroughly implement countermeasures and advises companies to refrain from seeking exorbitant damages. However, Japan has taken few measures against SLAPP cases. According to Suzuki, three SLAPPs have been filed against him by Unification Church affiliates. The latest case was one of them, and the UPF plans to appeal. A prolonged legal battle seems inevitable. When asked for his thoughts on the district court victory, Suzuki smirked and said, "It served them right." He emphasized that SLAPPs are "used as tools by those with malicious intent." He also noted, "I'm fortunate to have supporters, but some may give up the fight," while advocating for institutional support and the enactment of anti-SLAPP laws. As for his resolve for the ongoing legal battle, he commented, "I will go all the way. Be prepared." (Japanese original by Tomoko Ohji, Expert Writer)
Japan Forward
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Forward
Expo Drops 'World's Worst Cola' Over Unification Church Links
The soda McCol has been pulled from sale at Expo 2025, Osaka, Kansai, following critical publicity over its ties to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church). The decision has sparked debate, with some calling the move an overreaction. McCol is a barley-based carbonated drink produced by Ilhwa, a South Korean company affiliated with the former Unification Church. In South Korea, the group is often viewed more as a business conglomerate than a religious organization. The Unification Church came under intense scrutiny in Japan after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022. Abe was shot by Tetsuya Yamagami, who claimed he targeted the former prime minister due to perceived connections with the Unification Church. Yamagami also claimed that his mother donated large sums of money to the church, leading to his family's financial ruin. The polarizing drink is known for its distinct taste, which has earned it the nickname "the world's worst cola." It was popular in Japan in the 1980s, even featuring singer Cho Yong-pil in its commercials. However, distribution dwindled after reports of cans exploding. Today, it's mostly found in a few Korean supermarkets. Map of the Osaka Expo venue from the official website. At the Expo, McCol was being sold at a store specializing in K-pop merchandise, Korean cosmetics, and food, on the west side of the Ringside Marketplace. In late April, social media users began raising concerns about the drink's connection to the Unification Church. The Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition stated that the shop was run by a Tokyo-based company specializing in Korean food. After a weekly magazine contacted it on May 9, Expo organizers reached out to the operator, who then voluntarily pulled the product. The company had not responded to an inquiry from The Sankei Shimbun by the publication's deadline. Makoto Miura, head of the Social Affairs Department at Shimbun Akahata , the official newspaper of the Japanese Communist Party, praised the move on X (formerly Twitter), saying, "It's the right decision." (JAPAN Forward was unable to find comments from other political parties.) The Japanese court recently issued a dissolution order for the Unification Church at the request of the education ministry. However, the order does not apply to the group's South Korean headquarters or its businesses. In a similar case, the Japanese TV show Itte Q! edited out a segment featuring the church-affiliated Little Angels art troupe. Attorney Shinichi Tokunaga of the Osaka Bar Association, who has represented groups linked to the former Unification Church, criticized the decision. "Banning even foreign-made products is an overreaction and borders on hate. Japanese society should remain calm and guard against social prejudice." ( Read the article in Japanese . ) Author: The Sankei Shimbun
The Independent
25-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Japan disbands controversial Unification Church linked to Abe killing
A Japanese court has ordered the dissolution of the controversial Unification Church linked to the 2022 assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe. The church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, has long been accused by Japan 's government of coercive fundraising tactics and cult-like behaviour, including manipulative recruitment and unlawful adoption practices. The church said it was considering an immediate appeal of the order to revoke its legal status. It denounced the verdict as 'unfair' and said the decision marked a major shakeup for religions across Japan. 'Since the assassination of former prime minister Abe, there has been a lot of misinformation circulating in the media and social media about our organisation,' it said in a statement. 'We sincerely ask that the general public does not discriminate against our congregation.' The Tokyo District Court's order to revoke its status will end the Unification Church's tax-exempt privilege in Japan and force it to liquidate its assets. The church, popularly known as 'Moonies', came under renewed scrutiny after an investigation into Abe's assassination revealed the assassin's link to it. The man who shot Abe at a campaign rally on 8 July 2022 allegedly told police his actions were motivated by the former prime minister's links to the church. He claimed that the church had bankrupted his family due to his mother's excessive donations. The assassination shocked Japan, a country with some of the world's strictest gun control laws and low rates of political violence. Subsequent investigations found decades of ties between the church and Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party, triggering a public outrage. In 2023, the Japanese education ministry asked the Tokyo court to dissolve the church, accusing it of trying to steer its followers using manipulative tactics, making them buy expensive goods and donating beyond their financial ability, and causing fear and harm to them and their families. After a year and a half of hearings behind closed doors, presiding judge Kenya Suzuki said 'the order was necessary and inevitable' even if the court considered the right to freedom of religion. 'There were damages on an unprecedentedly large scale,' Mr Suzuki said. The ministry submitted nearly 5,000 documents and pieces of evidence to the court based on interviews with over 170 people. The Unification Church was founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon. Moon claimed to have had a vision of Jesus as a teenager, instructing him to complete his "unfinished work". The church's core text, the Divine Principle, outlines its beliefs in God, human history and salvation. Moon, who declared himself the Messiah in 1992, was convicted of tax evasion in the US in 1982 and served 13 months in prison. However, over the years, he built relationships with conservative world leaders, including US president Donald Trump and former presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush. Moon also had ties to North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. The Unification Church is the first religious group in Japan to face a revocation order under civil law. Two other groups have lost their status previously but due to criminal cases – Aum Shinrikyo, which carried out the Tokyo subway sarin attack, and Myokakuji, whose leaders were convicted of fraud. Additional reporting by agencies.
Boston Globe
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
What is the Unification Church and why did a Japanese court order it dissolved?
That changed in 2022, when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated. The man accused of shooting Abe allegedly was motivated by the former prime minister's links to the church and blamed it for bankrupting his family. The killing drew public attention and prompted investigations into the church's practices and its links to powerful politicians. What is the Unification Church? Advertisement The church was founded in Seoul in 1954, a year after the end of the Korean War, by the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the self-proclaimed messiah who preached new interpretations of the Bible and conservative, family-oriented value systems. The church, which officially calls itself the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, champions anti-communism and the unification of the Korean Peninsula, which has been split between the totalitarian North and democratic South. The church is perhaps best known for mass weddings where it paired off couples, often from different countries, and renewed the vows of those already married, at places like stadiums and gymnasiums. The group is said to have a global membership of millions, including hundreds of thousands in Japan. The church faced accusations in the 1970s and '80s of using devious recruitment tactics and brainwashing adherents into turning over huge portions of their salaries to Moon. The church has denied the allegations, saying many new religious movements face similar accusations in their early years. Experts say Japanese followers are asked to pay for sins committed by their ancestors during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, and that the majority of the church's worldwide funding comes from Japan. Advertisement Why was the church ordered dissolved? The Education Ministry asked a Tokyo court to dissolve the church in October 2023, accusing it of trying to steer its followers' decision-making, using manipulative tactics, making them buy expensive goods and donate beyond their financial ability, and causing fear and harm to them and their families. On Tuesday, the Tokyo District court granted the request, writing that the church's problems were extensive and continuous, and a dissolution order is necessary because it is not likely it could voluntarily reform, according to NHK television. The Unification Church is the first religious group to face a revocation order under Japan's civil code. Two earlier case involved criminal charges — the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which carried out a sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, and Myokakuji group, whose executives were convicted of fraud. The Japanese branch of the church has criticized the request as a serious threat to religious freedom and the human rights of its followers. In a statement Tuesday, it called the court order 'truely regrettable' and 'unjust,' adding that the decision is based on 'a wrong legal interpretation and absolutely unacceptable.' How did the church come under scruntiny in Japan? The 2022 assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and subsequent investigations unearthed decades of cozy ties between the Unification Church and Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party and triggered public outrage. The man accused of shooting Abe at a campaign event allegedly told police he was motivated by the former prime minister's links to the church, which he said bankrupted his family due to his mother's excessive donations. Abe was known for his arch-conservative views on security and history issues and appeared at events organized by church affiliates. Advertisement What are the church's links to world leaders? Throughout his life, Moon worked to make his church into a worldwide religious movement and expand its business and charitable activities. Moon was convicted of tax evasion in 1982 and served a prison term in New York. He died in 2012. The church has developed relations with conservative world leaders including U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and more recently Donald Trump. Moon also had ties with North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. Moon said in his autobiography that he asked Kim to give up his nuclear ambitions, and that Kim responded that his atomic program was for peaceful purposes and he had no intention to use it to 'kill (Korean) compatriots.' Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed.
The Independent
25-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
What is the Unification Church and why did a Japanese court order it dissolved?
A controversial South Korean church with powerful political connections faces dissolution in Japan after a Tokyo court ordered a revokation of its legal status after the government accused it of manipulative fundraising and recruitment tactics that sowed fear among followers and harmed their families. The Tokyo District court's ruling would end the Unification Church's tax-exempt status in Japan and force it to liquidate its assets. The church said it is considering an immediate appeal to the country's highest court. The Unification Church has faced hundreds of lawsuits in Japan from families who say that it manipulated members into draining their savings to make donations, but for decades it largely escaped official scrutiny and maintained close links with the governing Liberal Democratic Party. That changed in 2022, when former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated. The man accused of shooting Abe allegedly was motivated by the former prime minister's links to the church and blamed it for bankrupting his family. The killing drew public attention and prompted investigations into the church's practices and its links to powerful politicians. What is the Unification Church? The church was founded in Seoul in 1954, a year after the end of the Korean War, by the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the self-proclaimed messiah who preached new interpretations of the Bible and conservative, family-oriented value systems. The church, which officially calls itself the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, champions anti-communism and the unification of the Korean Peninsula, which has been split between the totalitarian North and democratic South. The church is perhaps best known for mass weddings where it paired off couples, often from different countries, and renewed the vows of those already married, at places like stadiums and gymnasiums. The group is said to have a global membership of millions, including hundreds of thousands in Japan. The church faced accusations in the 1970s and '80s of using devious recruitment tactics and brainwashing adherents into turning over huge portions of their salaries to Moon. The church has denied the allegations, saying many new religious movements face similar accusations in their early years. Experts say Japanese followers are asked to pay for sins committed by their ancestors during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, and that the majority of the church's worldwide funding comes from Japan. Why was the church ordered dissolved? The Education Ministry asked a Tokyo court to dissolve the church in October 2023, accusing it of trying to steer its followers' decision-making, using manipulative tactics, making them buy expensive goods and donate beyond their financial ability, and causing fear and harm to them and their families. On Tuesday, the Tokyo District court granted the request, writing that the church's problems were extensive and continuous, and a dissolution order is necessary because it is not likely it could voluntarily reform, according to NHK television. The Unification Church is the first religious group to face a revocation order under Japan's civil code. Two earlier case involved criminal charges — the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which carried out a sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, and Myokakuji group, whose executives were convicted of fraud. The Japanese branch of the church has criticized the request as a serious threat to religious freedom and the human rights of its followers. In a statement Tuesday, it called the court order 'truely regrettable' and 'unjust,' adding that the decision is based on 'a wrong legal interpretation and absolutely unacceptable.' How did the church come under scruntiny in Japan? The 2022 assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and subsequent investigations unearthed decades of cozy ties between the Unification Church and Japan's governing Liberal Democratic Party and triggered public outrage. The man accused of shooting Abe at a campaign event allegedly told police he was motivated by the former prime minister's links to the church, which he said bankrupted his family due to his mother's excessive donations. Abe was known for his arch-conservative views on security and history issues and appeared at events organized by church affiliates. What are the church's links to world leaders? Throughout his life, Moon worked to make his church into a worldwide religious movement and expand its business and charitable activities. Moon was convicted of tax evasion in 1982 and served a prison term in New York. He died in 2012. The church has developed relations with conservative world leaders including U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and more recently Donald Trump. Moon also had ties with North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung, the late grandfather of current ruler Kim Jong Un. Moon said in his autobiography that he asked Kim to give up his nuclear ambitions, and that Kim responded that his atomic program was for peaceful purposes and he had no intention to use it to 'kill (Korean) compatriots.' ___ Associated Press writer Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed.
