Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Following the dissolution of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Japan on Tuesday, the cult’s President TANAKA Tomihiro said the decision was based on false evidence and it had done nothing wrong.

“We have argued and proved from various perspectives that the reasons for dissolution of the corporation as asserted by the government are unacceptable,” Tanaka claimed at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan on Thursday. “However, it is extremely regrettable that our arguments were not accepted.”

“We have consistently argued and responded to the government that the Family Federation did not have a single criminal case until October 20, 2020, and that there are no grounds for dissolution. In addition, the civil court judgments, which are listed as grounds for the dissolution, are cases on average from 32 years ago. All damages for these court judgments have already been paid and each of the cases has already been settled.”

The Federation, which was previously known as the Unification Church and was colloquially known as the Moonies after its founder Sun Myung Moon, hit the headlines after the son of a cult follower assassinated former Prime Minister ABE Shinzo with a homemade shotgun in 2022.

YAMAGAMI Tetsuya held a grudge against the cult after his mother, a cult follower, handed over the family fortune to the Federation, which, Yamagami said, ruined his life.

Following the assassination, it came to light that Abe and many other politicians, particularly from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, had very close ties with the cult. Politicians were told to cut their ties with the cult and the police started to investigate the cult for pressuring followers to donate large sums of money, as well as child neglect. The cult faced several civil cases.

Tanaka blamed former Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio for targeting the cult, saying he “systematically, mobilized government agencies for private political purposes against the Family Federation and the former Unification Church.”

Tanaka said the Federation would lose all its churches and facilities because of the ruling.

Tanaka was asked about the cult’s responsibility for the suffering of some of its members, but he dismissed the accusations and implied that the cult was the victim. 

The lawyers for the Victims of the Unification Church, representing plaintiffs seeking damages from the cult, are planning to hold their own press conference to refute the claims of Tanaka.