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The Mainichi
30-07-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
Court OKs provisional seizure of Unification Church's Tokyo HQ land
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Japanese court has approved the provisional seizure of the Unification Church headquarters' land in Tokyo as sought by alleged victims of the entity's aggressive donation solicitation practices, a lawyers' group said Wednesday. The 10 people, who are negotiating damages payment by the Unification Church in a separate procedure, filed for the land seizure in June, fearing the church could hide its assets to evade payouts, the group said. In the decision dated July 18, the Tokyo District Court gave the green light to the seizure, based on a new law enacted in December 2023 to strengthen monitoring of religious corporation assets that could be subject to legal claims. The law was crafted amid concerns that the Unification Church, which may lose religious corporation status and related tax benefits, could attempt to transfer compensation-liable assets overseas. The Unification Church was designated as a religious corporation covered by the law in March 2024. With the seizure, the church can continue its activities at the headquarters' building but cannot sell or donate the land. While an application for provisional seizure requires collateral, the Japan Legal Support Center, a public organization, provided the financial support based on the law, the group said. The law strengthens surveillance of a group under the threat of losing its religious corporation status, such as by requiring the entity to give central or prefectural government authorities at least one month's notice of any plan to dispose of assets. If a notification is not given, the organization is prohibited from any further liquidation. The Tokyo District Court in March ordered that the Unification Church be stripped of its religious corporation status, as sought by the Japanese government. But the legal proceedings continue, as the religious group has appealed to a high court. Such a dissolution order, if finalized, would deprive the group, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, of tax benefits as a religious corporation, although it would still be able to continue its activities in Japan. Following the finalization of the order, a liquidator will dispose of the Unification Church's assets, enabling victims who are recognized as creditors to receive compensation. Its practices came to the public eye after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022 by a man claiming to hold a grudge against the organization because of financially ruinous donations taken from his mother. Tetsuya Yamagami, who has been indicted over the shooting, told investigators that he targeted Abe over the role of the politician's grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, in helping establish the Unification Church in Japan in the 1960s. It was founded in South Korea by a staunch anti-communist in 1954.


Yomiuri Shimbun
11-05-2025
- General
- Yomiuri Shimbun
As a Homemaker, I'm Fed Up with Having No Financial Freedom
The Japan News Dear Troubleshooter: I'm a homemaker in my 30s and have a 1-year-old child. My husband gives me ¥80,000 in allowance every month and says to keep half in the individual-type defined contribution pension plan (iDeCo) and the Nippon Individual Savings Account small-lot investment system, known as NISA. He also says I should discuss with him what to use the rest of the money for before spending it. I had a fight with him last year when I told him I want to buy a ¥7,000 set of commemorative stamps featuring a well-known athlete. He told me I should not spend money on such things, saying, 'It's a waste of money to buy something that can't be sold later.' But I disagree because I would feel happy just by owning them. I bought the stamps with savings I accrued before we got married. But we fought again when I told him about the purchase. He told me to cancel the NISA account immediately. 'Give me back everything accrued on the account as my money was used,' he said. I became a homemaker because he wanted me to stay home for our child. I rarely buy things for myself. I'm fed up with having to be financially dependent on him and having no financial freedom. R, Tokyo Dear Ms. R: People perceive the value of money according to the era and environment in which they grew up, so it is natural for even a wife and a husband to have opposing views. You cannot judge which is better between a wife who finds happiness in commemorative stamps of heroes, and a husband who views value according to resale prices at a recycling market, since they navigate the world differently. That said, you seem to have far greater financial literacy than your husband, who demanded that you cancel an investment account that only serves a purpose if active long-term. For you, I think the real issue is not about money. You think you are financially dependent on your husband, but he is also, if I were to use the same expression, dependent on you for chores and child-rearing. You should confirm your respective roles first, instead of talking about dependence, since a husband and a wife are equal. If he refuses to do so and continues to one-sidedly restrict your spending and deprive you of your freedom, which could mentally drive you into a corner, this could constitute abuse. You can contact the Japan Legal Support Center for assistance. I believe the work of a homemaker cannot be translated into financial value; the homemaker's existence itself is meaningful. Your husband can work without concern because you are at home taking care of the child. There is no question that wives also need days off, and things to treat themselves with. Hazuki Saisho, writer