The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday ordered the head of the Japan branch of the Unification Church — a controversial religious organization — to pay a fine of ¥100,000 for the group's refusal to answer some questions put to it by the culture ministry.
Recognizing that the group, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, declined to answer questions without a valid reason, the court ordered Tomihiro Tanaka to pay the fine.
Believing that some practices involving the Unification Church met the criteria for ordering the dissolution of the group, the ministry exercised its right to ask the group to submit reports and to question the group on seven separate occasions starting in November 2022.