Church Ties Under Fire: Japan’s Top Lawyer Group Grills LDP and CDP Candidates on Unification Church Links and Victim Support
National Federation of Lawyers Against Psychic Fraud Seeks Answers from LDP and Constitutional Democratic Party Candidates
The National Federation of Lawyers Against Psychic Fraud has sent an open questionnaire to the nine candidates for the LDP presidential election and the four candidates for the Constitutional Democratic Party leadership election, seeking their stance on ties with the World Peace Unification Family (formerly the Unification Church) and their efforts to provide relief to victims.
The questionnaire, which has a deadline for responses on the 17th, includes five key questions:
- How will you go about providing relief to victims of the former Unification Church and preventing further damage?
- How should we handle exchanges and cooperation with the former Unification Church and related organizations?
- What are your thoughts on the need for effective legislation to prevent the cult from concealing assets in order to provide relief to victims?
Attorney Hiroshi Yamaguchi (center) shows a photo of Sun Myung Moon and former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi shaking hands on the 12th in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo.
At a press conference held in Tokyo, the National Federation of Bar Associations’ representative, lawyer Hiroshi Yamaguchi, emphasized the need for relief for victims, stating, “Relief for victims has been hindered by political pressure. When I listen to the candidates, this issue never comes up. It should be an unavoidable issue for the Diet members who are in charge of Japanese politics.”
Secretary-General and lawyer Kimura Takeshi also highlighted the ongoing issue, pointing out that “Laws such as the Unfair Donation Solicitation Prevention Act (which regulates malicious donation solicitations) have been enacted, but we cannot say that the problem has been resolved.”
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has filed a petition for an order to disband the church with the Tokyo District Court, and the case is currently under review.