In anticipation of more complaints from victims of the controversial Unification Church, the government said Thursday it will coordinate between ministries and agencies to support people with grievances against the religious group, with plans to launch a campaign next month for victims so they can seek advice over their problems.
On Thursday, senior officials from the Justice Ministry, Cabinet Secretariat, National Police Agency and Consumers Affairs Agency held their first meeting to discuss the group, agreeing to hold the campaign for about a month from early September, with full details yet to be hammered out.
“It is important to heed the voices seeking help and offer relief,” Justice Minister Yasuhiro Hanashi said. “I’ll ask the ministries to handle it speedily.”
The church returned to the spotlight after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last month, with the alleged shooter claiming he held a grudge against Abe after the former leader sent a supportive message to a group tied to the Unification Church. The suspect said his mother had bankrupted the family with excessive donations to the group.
The alleged assailant’s uncle has told reporters that the suspect’s mother donated about ¥100 million to the church, that she still is a follower despite the incident and feels sorry for causing the church trouble.
Dozens of lawmakers have since been found to have ties to the church, with most of them being members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
At present, victims have various ministry hotlines and consultation services they can turn to, and the plan is for those ministries to share information on what kind of problems they are facing to offer better advice.
But details over how many inquiries they have been receiving and the content of the consultations were not provided by the ministries in the Thursday meeting.
According to the National Network of Lawyers against Spiritual Sales, there have been about 35,000 victim consultations with lawyers and consumer centers since the group’s establishment in 1987 through 2021, with financial damages totaling about ¥124 billion from “spiritual sales.” “Spiritual sales” refers to incidents where people are talked into buying jars and other items for exorbitant prices, often through coercion.
Until 2009, the number of consultations had topped 1,000 annually, but as more incidents surfaced, the number gradually dropped. In 2021, the figure was 47.
Consumer affairs minister Taro Kono has said that he will set up a panel to deal with damages from spiritual sales, though the panel won’t be limited to grievances against the Unification Church.
The move comes after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed ministries to take necessary measures to offer relief to victims of illegal activities by the Unification Church.
The meeting Thursday comes as ties continue to surface on a near-daily basis between the Unification Church and lawmakers, especially members of the LDP.
In the latest revelation of lawmakers’ ties with the religious group, it was reported that LDP policy chief Koichi Hagiuda visited a facility linked to the church in Hachioji, western Tokyo, in June, ahead of the Upper House election the following month, alongside LDP candidate Akiko Ikuina.
Seven members of Kishida’s Cabinet formed last week have been found to have had links with the church, such as participating in events or paying fees, including economic revitalization minister Daishiro Yamagiwa and health minister Katsunobu Kato.
A recent Kyodo News survey showed 106 of Japan's 712 lawmakers have had some connection with the group, with nearly 80% of them belonging to the LDP.
Information from Kyodo added
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