Press release claims Japanese government made decision based on biased information
The Family Federation of Japan issued a press release on 12th October 2023,
In response to the policy of requesting a dissolution order against our corporation
On 12th October, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) announced that it will file a request for a dissolution order for the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (hereinafter referred to as “the Corporation”) to the Tokyo District Court. We would like to announce our views on this.
The corporation is extremely disappointed, and it is deeply regrettable that such a decision has been made: It is particularly distressing that the Japanese government made that momentous decision based on biased information from a group of leftwing lawyers established with the aim of destroying our corporation.
On 19th October last year, Prime Minister Kishida overnight forcibly changed the long-standing government’s interpretation of the law that “civil law torts are not included” in the legal violation requirement for requesting a dissolution order for a religious corporation. “Civil law torts may also be involved,” he replied in the Diet. This is clearly a result of the opposition’s pursuit and pandering to public opinion and will remain a stain on Japan’s constitutional history.
What changed everything was the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July last year. Our religious organisation is no different from what it was before. Nevertheless, the environment surrounding our organisation went through a roller coaster transformation, and before we knew it, we were being portrayed as “absolutely evil” monsters in media reports.
Since receiving certification by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as a religious corporation on 15th July 1964, our religious organisation has to this day been engaged in evangelism, education, and various social activities with the aim of spreading the founders’ teachings of “living for the sake of others”. Our dream has been to realize world peace through ideal families centered on God. Our aim has been to become an organisation that lives for Japan and the world.
During that time, we received a lot of criticism, but since the Declaration of Compliance in 2009, we have been actively engaged in church reform, especially by appointing leaders from a new generation of future leaders. We have continued to promote reforms up to the present. In September last year, we established a “Church Reform Promotion Headquarters” within the corporation to work on further reforms.
In that sense, the government’s request for a dissolution order is extremely unfortunate for both the older generation of church members and the new second and third generations who will be taking over the church.
We are convinced that we are not the kind of religious organisation to receive a dissolution order from the government. Those who have been in direct contact with our congregations, those who have known us for many years, will agree. However, we are keenly aware that we were not able to convey a true picture of our religious organisation to the majority of the public, who swallowed the media reports that only spewed out flimsy information by left-wing lawyers on TV shows and in other media outlets.
We intend to present our legal arguments in court. In addition, we will continue to actively disseminate information and do other activities so that the public can come to understand our religious organisation as well as possible.
Featured image above: Sign at the entrance of the headquarters of the Family Federation of Japan in Shibuya, Tokyo. Photo: FFWPU
“Biased Information from Leftwing Lawyers” – the text consists of press release from the Family federation of Japan on 12th October 2023.
More about biased information: Response to Scandalous Bias
Even more about biased information: Pure Activism in Japanese Media
