Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered a probe into the fringe church whose extensive links to the ruling party have been exposed since the killing of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, undermining support for the government.
The education ministry would lead the inquiry into the Unification Church, Kishida told a Japanese parliamentary committee yesterday, adding that he had asked Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Keiko Nagaoka to start quickly.
The ministry is responsible for registering religions in Japan, and a law dating back to 1951 gives it the power to investigate groups suspected of illegal activity or deviating from a religious purpose. The probe would be the first use of those legal powers, the Nikkei newspaper wrote, and could lead to an order for the church to disband.
Photo: AP
Public perceptions that Kishida has been unable to sever ties between the church and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party have sent his support levels tumbling to their lowest levels since he took office a year ago. A majority of Japanese want the Unification Church stripped of its status as a religion — a categorization that provides tax advantages — according to a survey carried out by TV news network ANN over the weekend.
About 56 percent of respondents said it should be deregistered, while 23 percent said it should not. The survey put support for Kishida’s Cabinet at 33.1 percent.
The scandal over the church erupted in July when the killer of Abe said he was motivated by a grudge against the group for bankrupting his family. Abe had contacts with the organization, and had contributed a video speech to an event last year.
The South Korea-based group — now formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification — has a long list of court rulings against it in Japan over its fundraising methods. The Unification Church has said it took steps more than a decade ago to curb “excessive actions” by some members.
The government set up a hotline last month to help people who had problems with the church, whose followers are derisively nicknamed “Moonies” after deceased founder Sun Myung Moon. It recorded more than 1,700 cases by Sept. 30, most of them about financial issues, Kishida said.
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