Tokyo court orders dissolution of ‘Moonies’ Unification Church

A Japanese court has mandated the dissolution of the Unification Church following a government request linked to the investigation of the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Founded in South Korea and commonly referred to as the “Moonies” after its late founder, Sun Myung Moon, the church faces allegations of coercing its members into making financially devastating donations and is accused of neglecting children within its community, although it has denied any misconduct.

In response to the Tokyo district court’s decision to revoke its legal status, which would eliminate its tax-exempt status and necessitate the liquidation of its assets, the church announced it is contemplating an immediate appeal.

This order came after Japan’s education ministry requested the dissolution of the prominent South Korea-based organization in 2023, citing manipulative fundraising and recruitment practices that instilled fear in followers and adversely affected their families.

The Japanese branch of the church condemned the request as a significant threat to religious freedom and the human rights of its adherents.The church expressed disappointment and injustice regarding the court’s ruling, asserting in a statement that the decision stemmed from “an erroneous legal interpretation and is entirely unacceptable.”

The investigation into Abe’s assassination uncovered longstanding connections between the church and Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The church gained legal recognition as a religious entity in Japan during the 1960s amid an anti-communist movement supported by Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.

The individual charged with Abe’s murder harbored resentment towards the church, blaming it for his family’s financial difficulties.Officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the church is the first religious organization in Japan to face a revocation order under the country’s civil code.

Seeking the church’s dissolution, the education ministry submitted 5,000 documents and pieces of evidence to the court, based on interviews with more than 170 people.The church used manipulative tactics to make its followers buy expensive goods and donate beyond their means, causing fear, harm and seriously deviating from the law on religious groups, officials and experts said.

The church, founded in Seoul in 1954, a year after the end of the Korean war, by Moon, a self-proclaimed Messiah who preached new interpretations of the Bible and conservative, family-oriented value systems.It developed relations with conservative world leaders including the US president, Donald Trump, as well as his predecessors Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush.

The church faced accusations in the 1970s and 1980s of using devious recruitment tactics and brainwashing adherents into turning over huge portions of their salaries to Moon. In Japan, the group has faced lawsuits for offering “spiritual merchandise” that allegedly caused members to buy expensive art and jewelry or sell their real estate to raise money for the church.

The church has acknowledged excessive donations, but says the problem has lessened since the group stepped up compliance in 2009.