The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© KYODOJapanese gov't aims to seek Unification Church's dissolution on Oct 13
TOKYO©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© KYODO
26 Comments
Login to comment
zones2surf
Now do Soka Gakkai, J government! If you don't, this is not about protecting the people, it's about religious bigotry.
BertieWooster
And are the politicians that were members of this "religion" going to be fired too? If not the whole thing is meaningless!
dagon
Just like Johnny's and other "black companies", change names and reincorporate.
Criminal organizations, which many religious institutions are, should have their assets seized and nationalized and earmarked to help their victims and assist the unfortunate who often fall prey to these groups.
Politik Kills
Not because it’s the right thing to do. They only ‘do’ anything when they are pressured into it.
obladi
The response would be "slippery slope". The Unification Church is somehow a much easier target, being associated with Korea and the whole Abe debacle.
But, I totally get your point.
obladi
By the way, Abe's assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, will, as a result, achieve historical importance. Not the greatest precident for Japan...
Desert Tortoise
The Japanese government is supremely stupid if they go forward with this plan. All the existing members of the Unification Church are not going to suddenly stop believing on 13 October. They will continue to meet and worship together. What is Japan going to do about it? Arrest believers? Now you are edging into CCP territory. I don't have anything particularly nice to say about the Unification Church, or any other religion for that matter, but I sincerely believe governments have no right to ban them. All that does is drive them underground and make their adherents all that more devout. I don't think any nation in history has ever successfully banned a religion. All they can do is drive them underground.
ishel
Came across this lot in Australia 50 years ago. They are an insidious and dangerous cult, pure and simple. Need to be fully outlawed in any thinking country as a danger to the welfare of the people. But they are not alone, there are many such groups, and democratic governments don't have the strength of will. Unfortunately, other forms of government which WOULD ban them are dangerous to the people in other ways. No easy answers :(
mountainpear
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution. Taking away tax exemptions from all religions would be the right thing to do!
@Wallace So you seriously thinl SG and Komeito's interests are completely separate? Why do they think they formed a political party in the first place? Can anyone be that naive?
Mr Kipling
Tetsuya Yamagami will be celebrating in his prison cell on October 13th.
wallace
mountainpear
From knowing approximately how many SG members vote. Not all SG members vote for the Komeito, some vote for the LDP. It's a personal decision. And the total number of votes the Komeito receives in an election.
mountainpear
The LDP and Komeito cooperate so as not to run against each other in a Single Member District. In that situation, the SG members will more than likely vote for their coalition partner the LDP!
wallace
There are SG members who do not vote for Komeito. Like I said it's a personal choice. In a campaign where there is no Komeito candidate, they will vote for the LDP.
I think the Komeito relationship with the LDP is ending and I think the next election won't support the LDP.
Anyway, enough because the topic is the Unification Church.
elephant200
They U.C. member will just goes underground and their money will continue bribery L.D.P. politicians and the influences will be very radical.
Unless Japan has a Stalin style gulag system purging all these cults !
opheliajadefeldt
What ever the Japanese government does, it will not stop the UC, their millions of supporters would rather die on their cross's of martyrdom than succumb to being disbanded. The Falun Gong practitioners across China have since been subjected to widespread surveillance, arbitrary detention, horrific torture, and extrajudicial killing yet there estimated to be between 7-20 millions still practising in the country, and they once had the support of the CCP. The religion is now practised in 70 different countries across the world. The UC is estimated to have about 10 million member across the world, but it is declining.
starpunk
That's a clear sign of corrupt and criminal activities. Religion and politics do not make a good mix. Keep them separated.
The Moonies govern every facet of the devotees' lives, even selecting marriage partners. Total life control, that's what cults do. Scientology is another well known cult and let's face it - there's these self-appointed televangelists in these megachurches. All they care about is money, prestige, influence and power. Any serious religion, any true person of the cloth needs to be ordained and means study and work. And any religion that practices mind control and gets its members to commit crimes is a false one.
diagonalslip
"aims to seek" good to see such dynamically pro-active behaviour on the part of 'the government'. (⌒▽⌒)
wallace
mountainpear
Komeito and SG have been separate organizations for many decades. The Komeito receives no money from SG and is self-sufficient. The SG does not donate money to the government. The Komeito have strict rules about donations. The fact is that most members of SG vote for Komeito and many non-members too.
Komeito and SG have been separate since 1970.
Most members voting for the LDP practice Shinto.
If the government removes the tax exemption for religious groups then it would receive taxes from them and there would be no more separation of church and state.
mountainpear
Seriously doubt many non-members vote for Komeito. Although at election time they do call all their acquaintances and relatives up to try and persuade them to!
@Wallace Always such a staunch defender of Komeito! Are you and/or your wife a member?
Hardly call them practicing members! Never met anyone yet who actually practices Shinto!
mountainpear
Where did you obtain those stats?
wallace
About 2 million non-SG members vote for the Komeito in elections.
elephant200
The U.C. is a demon, UT haunts Japan for a very long time already. You can dissolve their business license, closing their office and assembly forum but you can't stop their activities. Those U.C. cults will continue doing their business especially blackmailing money from people, paying bribery to make L.D.P. candidates to run their election and harboring their criminal activities, they will go radicals like "Aum" , how can the Japanese government stop them?
The U.C. won't leave your country alone because there are so many naive people in Japan can be their source of srealing money. Japan is not China who can bust the "Faluan Gong" cults and kick them out of the country m!
Stephen Chin
Cult to close? Good! Not only Good!! But Excellent!!! Not only Excellent !!!!
But All Japan ShouldCelebrate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sakurasuki
Where those money really go?
https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2022/07/2c3444c1f71a-focus-unification-church-ties-to-lawmakers-emerges-as-major-political-issue.html
wallace
SG is not part of the government and does not donate money to it.