A court docket in Japan has ordered the disbandment of the controversial Unification Church, which got here beneath scrutiny after the shock killing of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022.
The alleged murderer had confessed that he held a grievance towards Abe due to the ex-leader’s ties with the church – he blamed the church for bankrupting his household.
Japan’s schooling and tradition ministry sought the church’s dissolution and accused it of manipulating followers into making big donations and different monetary sacrifices.
However the church, extra popularly referred to as the “Moonies”, argued that the donations had been a part of authentic spiritual actions. It will probably enchantment to overturn Tuesday’s ruling.
The order handed down by a Tokyo district court docket will strip the church of its tax-exempt standing and require it to liquidate its belongings, however it is going to nonetheless be allowed to function in Japan.
Throughout their investigation, authorities discovered that the church coerced followers into shopping for costly objects by exploiting fears about their non secular well-being.
They interviewed almost 200 individuals who stated they had been victimised by the church.
The Unification Church, which was began in South Korea, has established a presence in Japan for the reason that Sixties. The identify “Moonies” was derived from the identify of its founder, Solar Myung Moon.
It has drawn controversy even earlier than Abe’s assassination for educating that marriage is central to non secular salvation. It’s identified for holding mass wedding ceremony ceremonies involving 1000’s of {couples}.
Since 2023, some 200 former believers who stated they had been compelled to donate to the group have demanded compensations amounting to five.7 billion yen ($38.5m) in complete, in accordance their legal professionals.
Investigations following Abe’s assassination revealed shut ties between the secretive sect and plenty of conservative ruling-party lawmakers, resulting in the resignation of 4 ministers.
An inside investigation by former prime minister Fumio Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Celebration discovered that 179 of its 379 lawmakers had interacted with the Unification Church.
The relationships ranged from attending church occasions to accepting donations and receiving election help.
The revelations concerning the extent and stage of involvement of the controversial church and the LDP shocked the nation.
