Japan court upholds dissolution of Unification Church
A Japanese high court on Wednesday upheld a dissolution order for the Unification Church as requested by the central government, on the grounds that it unlawfully solicited financially ruinous donations from its members.
While the group can still appeal to the Supreme Court, the order by the Tokyo High Court will take immediate effect, with the controversial organization losing its status as a religious corporation with its associated tax advantages and liquidation procedures to begin.
Under Japan’s legal system, authorities can ask courts to order a dissolution if a religious corporation “commits an act that is clearly found to harm public welfare substantially.”
The Unification Church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, denied organizational involvement in improper solicitations, stating that harm caused by donations has decreased since 2009, when it declared stricter compliance measures.
This is the third case in Japan in which a religious group has been ordered to dissolve due to “violations of laws and regulations,” following cases including that of the AUM Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which carried out the fatal nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995.
The church has come under heavy scrutiny since the fatal shooting in 2022 of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by a man who admitted to holding a grudge against the group due to financially ruinous donations made by his mother.
