A Dissolution Built on Fabrications, Speculation

How the state engineered the dissolution of a religious organization: A show trial disguised as due process but based on fabrications and speculation

Tokyo, 22nd December 2025 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article. 

[Interview Feature]

Following the Pattern of the National Network of Lawyers

Part 2 of Interview with Masumi Fukuda, Author of “Sacrificed by the State” (国家の生贄)

by Susumu Fujihashi (藤橋進)

See also part 1: Dissolution, System of Faith-Breaking, Lawsuits

See also Expert: “Is Dissolution Framework Constitutional?”

See also: Selective Justice: Special Law Against One Faith

See also Upbringing No Excuse as Abe Assassin Gets Life

See also Court Rejects Media Narrative in Yamagami Case

See also Japan: Lawyers Accused of Wilful Dehumanization

See also: Peaceful Worship Treated as Crime in China

‒ As the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) pushed forward on the premise of dissolving the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), it even went so far as to fabricate affidavits submitted to the Tokyo District Court.

In the end, that shows there was no evidence that would constitute legitimate grounds for dissolution. That is why they resorted to such actions.

‒ The claims of the so-called “victims”, including fabricated affidavits from former members, follow the logic and patterns created by the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales (commonly known as the National Lawyers Network).

To begin with, the National Lawyers Network is not a neutral organization, yet it has been brought into MEXT as an advisor. Even the fabricated affidavits follow the same writing patterns that the Network has used in documents it has produced in the past.

‒ Media organizations that routinely claim it is their mission to monitor government and power and to report in a neutral and fair manner have instead continued one-sided attacks on the Family Federation.

Regrettably, in the push to dissolve the Family Federation, the media, the state, and government ministries are all perfectly aligned in the same direction. When I wrote the chapter titled “MEXT’s Suppression of Speech”, I was reminded of GHQ’s press code, the “Press Code for Japan” (Nihon ni atauru shinbun junkoku). Although GHQ guaranteed freedom of speech and expression under the Japanese Constitution that it itself helped draft, it did not allow publication of anything inconvenient to GHQ.

As if an invisible press code now blankets society as a whole, the media has stopped even attempting neutral reporting on the Family Federation. This is because there is blatant speech suppression by MEXT, and free reporting on matters related to the Family Federation can no longer be expected.

‒ In such circumstances, the judiciary should be the last line of defense.

Before the first-instance ruling was issued, many legal experts believed that the likelihood of a dissolution order being granted was low. I am not a legal expert, but having reviewed court materials from numerous lawsuits involving the Family Federation, and having seen many cases that appeared to be unjust rulings, I consistently said there was no room for optimism. Even so, I have never seen a judgment as terrible as that one. It is little more than sophistry, hair-splitting, and nitpicking.

‒ Courts, which are supposed to render strict and impartial judgments, are piling inference upon inference.

Since the 2009 compliance declaration [See editor’s note 1 below], the number of “victims” has declined markedly. The decision itself acknowledges that “the number of damage claims in recent times has decreased considerably.” Nevertheless, it goes on to say that it is “assumed” that there are “a considerable number” of latent, hidden victims. A court that should be making judgments based on evidence is instead relying on speculation to issue its ruling. One cannot help but wonder what has become of the Japanese judiciary.

‒ Do Japanese people have a negative image of religion?

To begin with, the word “religion” does not leave a very positive impression on many Japanese people. I was the same way myself, and especially when it comes to new religious movements, people tend to see them as suspicious. It is not easy to dispel such impressions. Moreover, the Aum Shinrikyo incident was decisive. The impact that incident had on society was enormous, and it firmly entrenched an unfavorable image of religion.

It is said that people do not listen to the religious organization’s side because its members are “mind-controlled” [See editor’s note 2 below], but the concept of mind control is no longer used in the West, where it is regarded as pseudoscience.

For those opposed to the Family Federation, “mind control” [See editor’s note 2 below] has become a power word ‒ a convenient magic phrase. Believers are mind-controlled; therefore, it is acceptable to abduct and confine them. The courts believe this as well.

Attorney Nobuya Fukumoto (福本修也), counsel for the religious organization, has forcefully explained that mind control [See editor’s note 2 below] does not exist, so the term itself does not appear in the judgment. However, it has simply been replaced with different wording that conveys almost exactly the same idea. When it comes to religion, Japan has now completely fallen away from the standards of advanced Western nations.

See also part 1: Dissolution, System of Faith-Breaking, Lawsuits

See also Expert: “Is Dissolution Framework Constitutional?”

See also: Selective Justice: Special Law Against One Faith

See also Upbringing No Excuse as Abe Assassin Gets Life

See also Japan: Lawyers Accused of Wilful Dehumanization

See also Court Rejects Media Narrative in Yamagami Case

See also: Peaceful Worship Treated as Crime in China

Featured image above: Masumi Fukuda (福田 ますみ) ‒ Born in 1956 in Yokohama City. Nonfiction writer. Winner of the 6th Shincho Documentary Award for Fabrication: The Truth Behind the Fukuoka “Murderous Teacher” Case (Shinchosha). In 2024, she received the U.S. Wilbur Award, which is given for outstanding reporting on religion. Her other works include Russia, the Assassination State: Pursuing the Journalists Who Were Silenced (Shinchosha) and The True Face of Political Correctness (Hojo-sha). Photo: Sekai Nippo

[Editor’s note 1: The 2009 compliance declaration of the Unification Church of Japan (now the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) was a formal commitment by the organization to reform its practices in response to longstanding public criticism and legal challenges.

The Unification Church in Japan had faced numerous allegations related to recruitment tactics and donation solicitation, termed “spiritual sales” (霊感商法) by a hostile network of activist lawyers who had declared the religious organization an enemy. These issues led to multiple lawsuits orchestrated by the activist lawyers and significant media backlash. This prompted the organization to take measures to restore its reputation and demonstrate compliance with legal and ethical standards.

The religious organization pledged to stop possibly unethical donation practices, including what the hostile network of lawyers claimed amounted to “pressuring members into making large financial contributions under spiritual pretexts.”

This was in response to accusations from the same activist lawyers that followers “were being manipulated into giving away substantial amounts of money or property.”

The Unification Church stated it would enhance internal oversight to ensure compliance with ethical and legal standards. Measures included better training for leaders and stricter guidelines for evangelization and solicitation of donations.

After this compliance declaration, there was a significant decrease in the number of lawsuits against the Unification Church – since 2015 called the Family Federation. The religious organization has used this as evidence that it has improved its practices and should not be subject to dissolution.]

[Editor’s note 2: In Japan, the “mind-control” myth has been a powerful tool used to stigmatize and suppress new religious movements (NRMs), particularly since the 1980s. The concept suggests that NRMs manipulate or “brainwash” their followers, depriving them of free will and rational thought. This narrative gained traction after the 1995 Aum Shinrikyō sarin gas attack, when public fear of dangerous cults intensified. Although Aum was an extreme and violent exception, the incident cast suspicion on all NRMs, allowing critics, media, and the government to label diverse groups as manipulative or psychologically coercive.

The “mind-control” myth serves multiple social and political functions. It simplifies complex questions of belief, making it easier to portray converts as victims rather than as individuals exercising spiritual agency. This framing justifies legal and social intervention, including the coercive “deprogramming” of believers – sometimes involving confinement or psychological pressure to force renunciation of faith. Lawyers, ex-member groups, and certain media outlets have used the idea of mind control to construct NRMs as threats to family stability and national order, reinforcing social conformity and Japan’s preference for established, non-controversial religions such as Buddhism and Shinto.

In recent years, the myth resurfaced following the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose attacker cited resentment toward the Unification Church. A public outrage largely created by media reignited scrutiny of NRMs, and politicians and journalists revived “mind-control” rhetoric to explain the Church’s fundraising and recruitment practices. Critics argue that this framing discourages genuine religious tolerance and critical examination of Japan’s restrictive religious climate. Overall, the “mind-control” myth functions less as a scientific or psychological concept and more as a moral panic – a cultural weapon used to delegitimize minority faiths and to reaffirm mainstream social norms about religion, obedience, and the boundaries of acceptable belief.]

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