Japan government mulls dissolving Unification Church following scandals and Shinzo Abe killing
- A request for it to disband could be filed with the court as soon as October, after a meeting of the government’s religious organisation council
- The move comes after an investigation of the church’s activities, which includes testimonies regarding alleged illegal donations and ‘spiritual sales’
The Japanese government is considering pursuing a court order to disband the contentious Unification Church, which has been at the centre of a political scandal since the killing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, a government source said Sunday.
If the evidence and victims’ testimonies gathered so far are deemed adequate, a request for the group to disband could be filed with the Tokyo District Court as soon as October, following a meeting of the government’s religious organisation council, the source said.
But a dissolution remains uncertain given that some people in the government are cautious and want the evidence to be carefully reviewed before a decision is made. Concerns include that proving illegal activity occurred at an organisational level may not be possible.
If dissolved, the Unification Church would lose its status as a religious corporation and be deprived of tax benefits, although it could still operate as an entity.
The move to consider issuing a dissolution order comes after the government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs began in October 2022 investigating whether the church’s activities contravene the law on religious corporations.
