A court docket in Japan ordered the dissolution of the controversial unification church, which was subjected to manage after the Shock Killing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022.
The alleged assassin had confessed to him He had a grievance in opposition to Abe Due to the ties of the previous chief with the Church, he blamed the Church for having banned his household.
Ministry of Education and Culture of Japan sought the dissolution of the Church And he accused him of manipulating the followers to make huge donations and different monetary sacrifices.
But the church, extra popularly generally known as “Moonies”, argued that donations had been a part of respectable non secular actions. He can enchantment to overturn Tuesday’s sentence.
The order issued by a district court docket of Tokyo undresses the church of his tax exemption standing and would require him to liquidate his actions, however he’ll nonetheless be allowed to function in Japan.
During their investigations, the authorities found that the Church compelled the followers in shopping for costly objects by exploiting the fears about their non secular nicely -being.
They interviewed virtually 200 individuals who declared that they had been victims of the Church.
The Church of Unification, which has been began in South Korea, has established a presence in Japan for the reason that Sixties. The identify “Moonies” derived from the identify of its founder, Sun Myung Moon.
He aroused controversy even earlier than ABE’s assassination to show that marriage is prime for non secular salvation. It is understood to maintain mass marriage ceremony ceremonies involving hundreds of {couples}.
Since 2023, about 200 former believers who’ve declared that that they had been compelled to donate to the group have requested compensations of 5.7 billion yen ($ 38.5 million) in whole, based on their attorneys.
The investigations following the assassination of Abe have revealed shut hyperlinks between the key sect and lots of conservative legislators of the dominant celebration, resulting in the resignation of 4 ministers.
An inside investigation of the liberal Democratic Party of the previous Prime Minister Fumio Kishida found that 179 of his 379 legislators had interacted with the Church of Unification.
The relationships went from collaborating within the occasions of the Church within the acceptance of donations and the reception of electoral help.
The revelations on the extension and stage of involvement of the controversial church and the LDP shocked the nation.
