Is it faith or manipulation?
As lawmakers and government officials work to provide relief to victims of the Unification Church, the question of whether to examine the mental conditions of people who continue to donate money to the controversial group has come into focus.
The church’s aggressive donation-seeking practices, which often leave families of church followers in financial ruin, came into the spotlight following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July. Tetsuya Yamagami, who was arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting Abe, has reportedly told police that he held a grudge against the politician over his ties to the church. Yamagami’s mother became a church follower in the late 1990s and gave away ¥100 million to the group, leaving the family bankrupt, according to news reports.