Kishida eyes launching probe into controversial Unification Church

And all this happening because of the murder of Abe. That man sitting sitting in his cell, I wonder if he feels mission accomplished when his influence has affected even the PM’s policies now.

A Kyodo News survey conducted earlier this month found the approval rating for Kishida's cabinet has fallen to 35.0 percent, its lowest level since its launch about a year ago.

Jij, another government-supporting news outlet, gave him 27pct. The exit door has swung open.

https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2022101300735&g=pol

His government has previously been cautious about ordering such a probe due to fears of violating freedom of religion.

More than that, has the LDP under the helm of Kishis and Abes been in cahoots with the Moonies for 6 full decades. As such, are the Moonies poised to know A LOT about the dark corners of J-politics. If the J-gov goes nuclear and turns against them, they may well spill the beans about a lot of unsavory things on their way being booted out of Japan. I'm getting the popcorn ready!!

The results of the LDP's internal probe released in September showed 179 of its 379 lawmakers, excluding leaders of both chambers of parliament, said they had some dealings with the church, such as sending congratulatory messages to the organization or its affiliated groups.

Much more problematic is participating in gatherings in their function as elected representatives and give such messages to the crowd present. What cults crave for is recognition and acceptance. As such, elected representatives, celebrities and other public figures are well-sought after.

So far, only two religious groups have received a dissolution order from a court because of legal violations.

...

The other is the Myokakuji temple group, based in Wakayama Prefecture. Its priests defrauded people who sought help by telling them they were possessed by evil spirits and then charging them for exorcisms.

Seems right on spot when it comes to the Moonies. Would like to know more on that group; when they started, when they got investigated and when they got a dissolution order dished out to them. Somehow, I doubt that it would have taken 60 years like the Moonies...

> In Japan, the Unification Church began stirring controversy with spiritual sales in the 1980s and also attracted notoriety for mass wedding ceremonies, with some Japanese celebrities participating in one held in Seoul in 1992. But since then there had been few media reports about the church until the assassination of Abe.

And just after Abe was shot, did the J-gov ask the media to put a lid on what religious group was involved until the election (2 days later) was wrapped up. Tells you everything you need to know...

Kishida eyes launching probe into controversial Unification Church

And the next time there is a crime that looks like its Yak related just ask the Yamaguchi gumi to investigate

He’s gotta do something to try to slow his plummeting popularity numbers.

I can tell ya without launching any probes that a lot of them have ties to Unification Church and nothing is going to change it.

Be careful for what you look for,you may find something,not of your liking

I fell off my chair laughing at this one. Nobody knows if Kishida is a member, but I bet the people who will “investigate “ will certainly be members or associates.

The important thing is the UC's religious corporation should be confiscated, after done this, all money on how those are contributed and what those are used for in the past and present would be clear.

Shut them down. Expose all the members names, addresses and workplaces online.

It's only going to be a superficial investigation and will only focus on the cult itself. The real point is to see how far their rot has permeated not only the LDP but society in general. Kishida is only working to get his poll numbers on a better footing, nothing else.

If this order is issued, the church will lose its status as a religious corporation and would not be entitled to tax benefits, but it can still operate as a religious entity.

There is your problem. However tenuous the connection between the Unification Church and Christianity is, they do place faith in the personage of Jesus Christ. What would Jesus do about a corporate entity operating in his name?

As if Keidanren and the influence of corporations on politics were not enough, the public has to deal with religious corporations too. With all the moneyed special interests to satisfy, it is no wonder the needs of the public are never addressed.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering launching an investigation into the Unification Church,

Almost guaranteed to be a whitewash and another waste of the taxpayer 10 yen, as if there hadn't been enough.

Cut to the chase: Eliminate "religious corporations" and their shady and unfair tax exempt statuses.

To be fair all of them.

Why does someone has to DIE before the truth and the awful and wrong is exposed!?

Let's see why Kishida's rating is so low:

Inflation

Weak yen

Moonies

Nepotism

Foreign Tourist

I am surprised his approval rating is not in the low single digits, to be honest.

Why does someone has to DIE before the truth and the awful and wrong is exposed!?

Nothing has been exposed yet. Did Kishida ever return his disclosure documents to his relationship with this cult? The last I heard he has not. Now he is once again "eyeing", "considering", "contemplating", "planning". Maybe he will make a decision during his next junket he is going to attend in some far-flung corner of the world.

Let’s see why Kishida’s rating is low …

Corporate Welfare !

Anti - science stance on Covid !

Complete Collapse of entire healthcare system!

Lack of security for the most popular and respected former Prime Minister in the history of Japan !

Wasting taxes and breath on the Unification Church ! They are irrelevant!

why don't you probe Sokagakkai as well? The only cult which is a political party

This has the potential to backfire enormously for Kishida.

Firstly, exposing the exploitative and shady practices of the Moonies will only make the public question even more why so many in the government had connections with such an awful organisation in the first place.

Secondly, an unethical organisation whose modus operandi is extortion and manipulation is unlikely to go down without some sort of retaliation.

Dango bong

why don't you probe Sokagakkai as well? The only cult which is a political party

The Soka Gakkai and the Komeito are two separate organizations. The Komeito receives no money from the Soka Gakkai.

Komeito's regulations limit the amounts people can donate. Funds are from its publications and the money received from the government. No single politician receives donations.

They publish annual audited accounts.

What's he gonna do - flip through his Rolodex?

This could go badly for Kishida and ensure that he will be a one-term PM. His first mistake in office was capitulating to Shinzo and installing Shinzo's cronies into key positions at the very beginning. He pretty much told the country he was on Shinzo's team. He could of possibly distance himself from this fallout unless he has also been taking Moonie money!

Kishida has no choice but to address the issue:

1) They are trying to salvage Shinzo's legacy thus the LDP's credibility.

2) He needs a distraction from the economy.

3) He needs to appear like he did something. (However, it will be a long drawn out sham of an investigation, give a deep bow, ask for an apology for the inconvenience, claim no crimes were committed Shinzo, and make someone step down as a scapegoat.)

Tetsuya Yamagami's actions has set off a chain of events that has made him (Testuya) the most influential person in Japan for 2022. This is how revolutions and coups have started in other countries.

These are definitely some interesting times in Japan and abroad. I am wondering what will happen at the end of the year.

Well good, we’ll soon have confirmation that despite a few minor oversights by a couple of bad apples, the church is clean and any LDP connections were perfectly harmless. Whee, glad that’s over.

I support freedom of religion and faith-based politicians.

Unfortunately, the only way in many instances issues get resolved or brought to the surface is when someone is injured or in this case murdered.

The foxes investigating murders in the hen coop?

The results are already decided.

Expect a record number of misunderstandings, regrettables, clarifications, explanations, needs to improve, cultural uniquenesses, and a couple of resignations of underlings.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

Steven Mccarthy Today  09:02 am JST

Let’s see why Kishida’s rating is low …

Corporate Welfare !

Anti - science stance on Covid !

Complete Collapse of entire healthcare system!

Lack of security for the most popular and respected former Prime Minister in the history of Japan !

Wasting taxes and breath on the Unification Church ! They are irrelevant!

None of this (except maybe the last line, a little bit) has anything to do with the topic of the article.

Yet it's been up here for nearly four hours and the moderators haven't taken it down for being "off-topic."

I have had posts removed for this reason many times, even though they were clearly ON topic for the articles in question.

Yes, we all know what internal investigations result in here...a few fake bows for the " confusion caused to the public, , tatemae promises of skin deep changes, nobody really found responsible and then back to business as usual.

Why probe them? Half of you all are members lol!

The way investigations are done are hilariously inept. Who would buy an LDP report on the current state of The Moonies?

Kishida eyes launching probe into controversial Unification Church:

Only consider to probe?

Don't just consider, avoid hesitating, act now.

The Church's irregular activities & connections are costing his popularity, not just the credibility of his lawmakers.

Did he not know..?

Is there a worse leader, apart from the obvious tyrants of course, in the world, currently?

I feel sorry for the good people in Japan. The ones that keep voting for such people, not so much.

There are much more dangers influencing people ore organisations in the gouverment than the Moonis. I just need to look to Davos. I was seeing politicians in Japan with the symbols of this organization on the suite. The Moonis just want to bring Christians values in the politicians decisions. Also to help that communism is not taking over the government like we see in Europe and the Biden Administration. Moonis just support conservative politic. Sure that the Japanes left take now this chance to destroy a conservative gouverment.

Hermann, why should there be Christian values in the decisions of politicians?

Sadly, even if the religious status is removed, doesn't necessary mean any of the damage it does is removed or alleviated. All it means is more tax money. And this isn't even close to happening as the investigation is only / perhaps being considered, there isn't any guarantee the findings will be sufficient. So, means nothing ATM.

behind the curtain you never know what you find! the deeper you go the more you can understand! the truth is like a balloon that cannot sink, at the last it always rises to the surface!

Minister, a basic rule of government. Never set up an enquiry unless you know in advance what its findings will be.

Sir Humphrey Appleby

On of my favorite bands is Genesis, and they wrote a great song in the early 90s and you can relate it to this problem today called Jesus he knows me, great song on how western religious figures use the masses to get rich. Perfectly relates to this loony Christian sect.

Save for arrogating the title of Messiah, and currying favor with US based Christian identitarians, the UC owes far more to anti individualist, dynastic Eastern tradition than it does to Western religion.

@Wallace

Dango bong

why don't you probe Sokagakkai as well? The only cult which is a political party

The Soka Gakkai and the Komeito are two separate organizations. The Komeito receives no money from the Soka Gakkai.

Komeito's regulations limit the amounts people can donate. Funds are from its publications and the money received from the government. No single politician receives donations.

They publish annual audited accounts.

Just wondering. Do you have any conflicts of interest involving the Soka Gakkai to tell us about? This, because each time SG comes up in a thread you get extraordinarily jumpy repeating again and again and again the same stuff.

I suggest you get a little up to date about SG and Komeito.

To help you:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komeito#Relationship_with_Soka_Gakkai

Relationship with Soka Gakkai

Komeito regards the Soka Gakkai as a "major electoral constituency", having formally separated from the religious group and revised both its platform and regulations in 1970 to reflect a "secular orientation".

Observers continue to describe Komeito as the Soka Gakkai's "political arm", however, and critics contend the relationship violates the separation of religion and politics enshrined in Article 20 of the Japanese Constitution.

The leadership and financing of the two groups are currently said to be independent. Both groups report having occasional liaison meetings, characterizing them as informational and "open to the media".

In regard to the 2 first paragraphs, after 18 years in Japan, I have yet to meet a Japanese who does not consider Komeito the "political arm of the SG". But that's only me and the people I meet.

Then, there is also:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dmeit%C5%8D_(1962%E2%80%931998)

The party was established in January 1962 as the Kōmei Seiji Renmei (Clean Government League) by the Sōka Gakkai, an organization that promoted Nichiren Buddhism. Running as independents, three members of the Sōka Gakkai had been elected to the House of Councillors in the 1956 elections, with the 1959 elections seeing nine members elected. It also had several members elected to local assemblies.

> In 1957, a group of Young Men's Division members campaigning for a Gakkai candidate in an Osaka House of Councillors by-election were arrested for distributing money, cigarettes, and caramels at supporters' residences, in violation of elections law, and on July 3 of that year, at the beginning of an event memorialized as the "Osaka Incident," Daisaku Ikeda was arrested in Osaka. He was taken into custody in his capacity as Sōka Gakkai's Youth Division Chief of Staff for overseeing activities that constituted violations of elections law. He spent two weeks in jail and appeared in court forty-eight times before he was cleared of all charges in January 1962.

...

On 17 November 1964 the party was renamed Kōmeitō. In 1968, fourteen of its members were convicted of forging absentee ballots in Shinjuku, and eight were sentenced to prison for electoral fraud. In the 1960s it was widely criticized for violating the separation of church and state, and in February 1970 all three major Japanese newspapers printed editorials demanding that the party reorganize. It eventually broke apart based on promises to segregate from Soka Gakkai.

...

In the 1980s Akahata discovered that many Soka Gakkai members were rewarding acquaintances with presents in return for Komeito votes, and that Okinawa residents had changed their addresses to elect Komeito politicians. It was also revealed that while the party was technically separate from the Soka Gakkai, monetary donations made that were tax exempt were being funneled into funding for the Kōmeitō party as revealed by an expelled Kōmeitō member of the Tokyo municipal assembly.

Further down the lane:

http://www.notnet.jp/data04index.htm

額賀福志郎 茨城２区・自民党 元経済財政担当大臣 ◎当

「ものつくり大学」設立を施政方針演説に盛り込む見返りにＫＳＤから１５００万円を受け取った嫌疑で２００１年１月２３日経済財政担当相を辞任した。額賀氏は政倫審で１５００万は秘書が勝手に預かったが返却した。この項目が施政方針演説に入った経過は知らないと主張している。

> ＊ ＫＳＤからの主な政治献金は、この他に政治資金収支報告書に示されただけで以下の通り（衆院のみ）

植竹繁雄・北関東比例・自民党 １００万円

菅直人・東京１８区・民主党　党代表 ２１０万円

松島みどり・東京比例・自民党 ２１０万円

甘利明・神奈川１３区・自民党 ６１０万円

亀井義之・神奈川１６区・自民党 １１０万円

藤井孝男・東海比例・自民党 ２１０万円

太田誠一・福岡３区・自民党 １１０万円

> また機関誌への広告費として９９年・００年の両年度とも、自民党には７８００万円が、

公明党には５００万円が支払われていた。

白保台一 沖縄１区・公明党 ◎当

　◎朝日新聞（０３－２．６）によれば、００年６月の衆院選の折、公共事業を受託している企業から４７０万円の『特定寄付』の受け取りが疑われる。詳細は江藤隆美議員（宮崎２区）の項を参照。

井上義久 東北比例　公明党 ◎当

　毎日新聞（０３－２・１８）によれば、『定期借家法』成立の為献金攻勢を行っていた「全国不動産政治連盟」などから、４０万円の献金を受けていた。法案提案議員の一人。詳細は保岡興治議員（鹿児島１区）の項を参照。　

And finally:

https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%85%AC%E6%98%8E%E5%85%9A

Please refer to:

2001年（平成13年）参議院選挙

2003年（平成15年）衆議院総選挙

2010年（平成22年）参議院選挙

2012年（平成24年）衆議院総選挙

生活保護不正受給の口利き問題

No doubt Komeito is just your run-of-the-mill squeaky clean J-political party (#sarcasm).

As far as your own statement goes:

Komeito's regulations limit the amounts people can donate.

The Moonies say they do the same...

No single politician receives donations.

Look at the above links and info.

They publish annual audited accounts.

I guess you mean this:

https://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/seiji_s/seijishikin/reports/SK20220930/TK/SH02.html

Yes, they are being audited, but...

https://www.soumu.go.jp/senkyo/seiji_s/seijishikin/reports/SK20190927/TK/SH06.html

...so does the LDP. And we all know what is going on in that party, do we?

As an additional information, being an auditor myself, I have to tell you that we (auditors) can only audit what is being given to us. If a company withholds information or run 2 accounting systems: one official/public and one...more "discreet" so-to-speak, we can only audit the former. You just need to remember Toshiba's accounting scandal, where the company cooked the books for 150 BILLION JPY. Toshiba has internal and external auditors, internal control and compliance depts.. Still, it did happen.

Oh yeah, BTW kickbacks are generally not put in accounting books for obvious reasons (i.e. they're, well, illegal)...And therefore, not auditable.

So, my advice as an auditor: take audit reports with a BIG grain of salt and take time to carefully read all the disclaimers on the audit reports as well as keep them in mind, you know, "just in case".

There is a saying according to which: promises only bind those who believe in them. Keeping this saying in mind when dealing with (Japanese) political parties may be advisable.

I hope this will be an 'independent' investigation.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering launching an investigation.

A former Prime Minister is slaughtered in the Tokyo street due to a deranged killer convinced this cult is responsible for the bankruptcy of his family.

The Government is infested with this cult, the electorate unable to fathom out exactly what or who they are voting for.

This cults is leveraging through forcible systematic means fund raising to advance a political agenda.

And Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is unable to make up his mind whether to launch a probe or investigation!!!!!?

Heck I going to have a bath and a lie down.

Turn the lights on and watch the roaches scatter!

A former Prime Minister is slaughtered in the Tokyo street..........

There was no slaughter on any Tokyo street. Last time I looked, 大和西大寺 was in 奈良県.

Of course, I stand corrected slaughtered, standing at an intersection outside a train station in the western city of Nara........

I thank you for that...

blue

I'm sorry but I have no intention of reading your very long post.

If you want to know about the regulations of the Komeito you can read them on their website. If you want to know about the charter of the Soka Gakkai you can read it on their website.

I have my personal experience and also know many Komeito politicians on a local level and also in both houses of the Diet.

Since both Komeito and Soka Gakkai are two separate organizations there is no violation of Article 20 of the constitution.

They both share common interests, and common goals, and probably two-thirds of the SG members vote for Komeito but there are no rules or pressures to do so. They also vote for the LDP politicians.

The Unification Church does not regulate its donations. Does not publish annual audited accounts and we have no idea how much money they receive. But we do know more than 80% of the money goes to South Korea.

The LDP needs to follow Komeito in regulating how it receives donations.

Had it done so there would not have been the problems it had.

The Komeito receives money from three sources.

 The three approved means of funding are:

1) private donations (capped at 1.5 million yen per individual donor per year);

2) subscription income generated from the Komei Shimbun, the party organ newspaper;

3) and a government subsidy allocated to all state-sanctioned political parties.

https://www.komei.or.jp/en/faq/

Lawyers in Japan say Unification Church lying about not extorting donations from followers

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220713/p2a/00m/0na/008000c

Dango bong - why don't you probe Sokagakkai as well? The only cult which is a political party

I suppose one could argue that all religions have some cult-like attributes, in one form or another. (Silly rules on hair, clothes, diet, sexuality, language, behavior, etc. Constant requests, sometimes actual requirements, for financial donations. Always seeking converts. Authoritarian hierarchy. )

But, what exactly makes Soka Gakkai a cult in your mind? That question is for anyone here who has a similar opinion of them.

blue

please write in English, the language of JT, or Japanese but don't mix both in the same comment.

Politicians Globally need oversight from an impartial set of "Compliance" rules - common regardless to Religion, or Political view.

For example, Politicians should not be allowed to invest in the Stock Market without prior approval from such an oversight committee. Similarly, ties to a Religious Organization should be monitored and regulated.

JTC - Politicians Globally need oversight from an impartial set of "Compliance" rules - common regardless to Religion, or Political view.

For example, Politicians should not be allowed to invest in the Stock Market without prior approval from such an oversight committee. Similarly, ties to a Religious Organization should be monitored and regulated.

They are in dire need of that in the US.

The Constitution protects religious freedoms.

@blue

Many thanks for your in-depth post and multiple links-appreciated!

Headline from the above: "Kishida eyes launching probe into controversial Unification Church."

The Moonies: "Whew !!"

Kishida eyes have launched themselves cross-eyed with all this unification church baloney shenanigans .

Its all about to implode in a grandiose extravaganza of magnanimous buffoonery and putrid bile.