Japan probes Unification Church after backlash over ruling party ties

TOKYO – Japan

launched a probe into the Unification Church

on Tuesday that could threaten its legal status, after the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in July revealed its close ties to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and triggered a public backlash.

For the church, founded in South Korea in 1954 and relying on its Japan followers as a key source of income, the probe could deliver a severe financial blow, affecting its tax exemptions and even its property holdings.

The stakes are high for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government, teetering on an approval rate of just 30 per cent and eager to quell the uproar over links to the church, which forced the resignation of a minister.

“For Kishida, it’s clear that this is a huge drag on him. He’s going to be linked to the Unification Church issue no matter what,” said North Carolina State University’s Associate Professor Levi McLaughlin, who is studying religion in Japan.

The government has given the Unification Church until Dec 9 to answer an initial series of questions about its finances and organisation, Culture Minister Keiko Nagaoka said. It will then decide whether to seek a court order revoking the church’s legal standing, which could take several months and be followed by a lengthy legal fight.

The Unification Church expects to receive the first batch of government questions on Wednesday and will cooperate with the investigation, said a spokesman in Japan.

A senior church official at its South Korean headquarters added: “Japan is a democratic country that guarantees the freedom of religion, so we are closely monitoring the situation.”

Ms Shiori Kanno, a lawyer on a Consumer Affairs Agency panel looking into the church’s practice of selling ginseng drinks, marble sculptures and other items to raise money from followers, expects the case to go all the way to the Supreme Court if the government ends up seeking to legally disband the church.

“The church would lose tax exemptions on donations from members,” she said. “It will find it harder to borrow money.”

But she said that losing its status as a religious organisation would not prevent the church from continuing its activities or its members from meeting.

When Tetsuya Yamagami was arrested for

the killing of Mr Abe in July

, he blamed the religious organisation

for impoverishing his family

and said Mr Abe, who had appeared at events sponsored by Unification Church-affiliated groups, had promoted it.

The Unification Church, known globally for its mass weddings, says it has stopped soliciting donations that create financial hardships for its followers and has curtailed aggressive door-to-door sales of church goods, after convictions a decade ago related to such practices prompted its then-leader in Japan to resign.

With the spotlight on the church’s activities, however, Mr Kishida has come under pressure to address public anger stoked by revelations that more than half of all lawmakers in the ruling LDP had links to the church.

The uproar has persisted despite a Cabinet reshuffle on Aug 10 that purged some senior figures with links to the church. In late October, Economic Revitalisation Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa resigned after revealing that he, too, had ties to the church.

Mr Kishida will be particularly keen to put the issue behind him before a series of local elections next April, when his party will face voters on a national scale for the first time since winning the July Upper House election that immediately followed Mr Abe’s death. REUTERS