The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday disclosed the names of 121 lawmakers who have had substantial ties with the Unification Church, with two lawmakers receiving organizational support in election campaigns.
In total, 179 out of 379 LDP lawmakers, or about 47%, had some level of ties with the religious group, according to an internal survey. The party did not release the names of those whose ties were deemed to be less significant.
The degree of ties varied, with some lawmakers having been interviewed in a publication linked to the religious group, while others sent congratulatory messages and attended events. Some lawmakers were found to have stronger ties with the controversial church, including some who received funds and election support.
According to the internal survey, Lower House member Hiroaki Saito and the Upper House’s Yoshiyuki Inoue had deep ties to the religious organization and affiliated groups, with a history of receiving or asking for organizational support in election campaigning. Sixteen others had members from the Unification Church volunteer with their election campaigns. Four lawmakers received donations or had members of the religious group purchase tickets for fundraising parties.
A key talking point in the days ahead will be whether ties were deep enough for the religious group to have had significant influence on politicians and policies. The survey was conducted on all parliamentary members of the LDP between Aug. 26 and Friday last week.
Ahead of the announcement, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida denied that the church had any influence on policies.
Policies are not “distorted by a specific organization,” Kishida, whose approval ratings have been dogged by the scandal, said in a parliamentary session. “The LDP listens to voices from the public, and the government listens to opinions of ministries as well as experts when we decide on policies.”
LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi said the party considers the issue to be a “grave” matter, vowing to ensure all LDP members sever ties with the controversial group. He added that those who do not comply will need to leave the party.
“I gravely accept the results and reflect on it earnestly,” Motegi said at a news conference. “It’s not a small number. I will make sure that party members will not have ties with them in the future.”
Motegi said that most of the LDP members who had ties with the group were unaware of their links to the Unification Church. To raise awareness, the party will set up an advisory body to help members identify problematic events and groups.
Ties between the LDP and the Unification Church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, have been in the spotlight since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in July during an Upper House election campaign. The alleged assailant reportedly killed Abe because he believed the veteran lawmaker had ties with the religious group. The suspect held a grudge against the church, as his mother had donated much of the family’s savings to the group.
Media coverage then shifted to ties between lawmakers and the Unification Church and whether the group had exerted any influence on politicians.
Some prominent LDP figures have been tied up in the scandal, including the party’s policy chief Koichi Hagiuda, who visited a facility linked to the group accompanying Akiko Ikuina, an LDP candidate for the Upper House, ahead of the July poll. Former Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, Abe’s younger brother, has admitted he received help from Unification Church volunteers in past elections.
Opposition parties have pushed the LDP to look into Abe’s ties with the group as well, with his family’s connection to the group going back as far as his grandfather and former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, but the party has said it would be difficult to check such ties following Abe’s death. Abe sent a congratulatory message to a group linked to the Unification Church last year.
Public criticism has continued to mount against Kishida and the LDP, prompting Kishida to announce last week that all of its LDP members will be forced to cut ties with the group as part of party policy.
In a poll conducted last weekend by the daily Yomiuri Shimbun, 76% of the respondents held a favorable view of Kishida’s decision for LDP lawmakers to sever ties with the Unification Church entirely. But the same poll also showed that 72% believes the party would not be able to cut ties with them.
The opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has also disclosed that 14 out of its 135 lawmakers, including Secretary-General Katsuya Okada, had ties to the church.
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