Japan high court upholds dissolution order for Unification Church

A Japanese high court on March 4 upheld a dissolution order for the Unification Church as requested by the central government on the grounds that it unlawfully solicited financially ruinous donations from its members.

While the group can still appeal to the Supreme Court, the order by the Tokyo High Court will take immediate effect, with the controversial organisation losing its status as a religious corporation with its associated tax advantages and liquidation procedures to begin.

Under Japan’s legal system, the authorities can ask courts to order a dissolution if a religious corporation “commits an act that is clearly found to harm public welfare substantially”.

“I hope the liquidation process will be carried out properly under the supervision of the court, ensuring swift redress for the victims,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference.

Mr Kihara added that he has instructed relevant ministries and agencies to closely cooperate in implementing necessary measures to provide relief for victims right away.

The Unification Church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, denied organisational involvement in improper solicitations, stating that harm caused by donations has decreased since 2009, when it declared stricter compliance measures.

The group argued that only criminal violations, not those under the Civil Code, meet the requirements for dissolution.

This is the third case in Japan in which a religious group has been ordered to dissolve due to “violations of laws and regulations”, following cases including that of the AUM Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which carried out the fatal nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995.

The two previous cases were based on criminal violations. The Unification Church is the first religious organisation to be ordered to dissolve based on violation of the Civil Code.

The government filed a

dissolution request in October 2023

on the grounds that the organisation’s practices of soliciting financially ruinous donations, including tactics such as pressuring people into buying religious goods, continued nationwide over a long period and resulted in numerous victims.

According to the Tokyo District Court’s ruling in March 2025, the organisation had swindled at least 20.4 billion yen (S$165.74 million) in donations from more than 1,500 people.

The lower court said it was unable to overlook the significant damage wrought by the church and the likelihood it would continue to harm people in the future. It ruled that there was no alternative to a dissolution order, calling it an “inevitable legal action”.

The church has come under heavy scrutiny since the fatal shooting in 2022 of former prime minister Shinzo Abe by a man who

admitted to holding a grudge against the group

due to financially ruinous donations made by his mother.

Tetsuya Yamagami, who has appealed his life term, claimed that he targeted Mr Abe because Mr Abe’s grandfather, Mr Nobusuke Kishi, who also served as prime minister, helped introduce the Unification Church to Japan, according to investigative sources.

Established in 1954 in South Korea, the church known for its anti-communist stance earned its religious corporation status in Japan in 1964.

The assassination of Mr Abe was followed by a series of revelations of ties between some lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church.

A law was enacted in December 2022 to regulate manipulative fund-raising tactics by organisations after the suffering of children of Unification Church members came to light. KYODO NEWS