The Unification Church on Monday laid out its defenses against the government's request for a court order that would revoke its religious corporation status, calling the move a violation of freedom of religion as well as human rights.
“We contest (the allegations) on all fronts,” Nobuya Fukumoto, one of the group’s lawyers, told a news conference at the group’s headquarters in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward.
On Friday, the education ministry sought a court order asking for the Unification Church to be stripped of its religious corporation status, which could have a devastating impact on its financial standing.