Cover-Up Scandal in Africa to Protect Kishida

Investigative journalist uncovers Kishida administration’s embarrassing cover-up scandal in Africa to appease Japanese communists

An article in Bitter Winter, the leading online magazine on religious liberty and human rights, explores a controversy involving the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a vocational school for women in Senegal that was established with assistance from the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP), a non-governmental organization with the same founders as the Family Federation (formerly the Unification Church). See the Bitter Winter article.

The article penned by Editor-in-Chief Dr. Massimo Introvigne, the internationally well-known Italian sociologist of religion is based on a report in the influential Japanese magazine Weekly Shincho (Shukan Shincho) 29^th August this year.

There, investigative journalist Masaki Kubota highlights a covert attempt by Japanese officials to obscure the school’s links to the WFWP, allegedly to appease the Japanese Communist Party and shield Prime Minister Kishida’s administration from political embarrassment.

The vocational school, known as JAMOO2, was built in Thibaouin Poule, Senegal, with financial support from Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) and private donors affiliated with the WFWP. JAMOO2 provided valuable training to local women in skills like dressmaking, embroidery, and beading. The school had clear connections to the WFWP.

Then after the wave of persecution of the Family Federation (formerly called the Unification Church) after the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022, the Japanese Foreign Ministry, in April 2023, sent a delegation to Senegal not to support the school, but to remove all visible links between the WFWP and JAMOO2. This included erasing logos, altering contact details, and even dismissing a long-serving teacher, in an attempt to distance the project from the Unification Church.

Investigative journalist Kubota attributes this to political pressure that began in November 2022 when Keiji Kokuta, a member of Japan’s Communist Party, questioned the government’s connections to the Unification Church during a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee meeting. While the government initially denied that the school was used for missionary activities by the Unification Church, the Communist Party persisted. Kokuta raised concerns about the involvement of Prime Minister Kishida, who had been Foreign Minister when ODA funds were granted for the school project.

Kubota’s report suggests that Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was intimidated by these political pressures, leading to what he describes as a “crude and childish” cover-up attempt. The Ministry’s officials ordered the removal of all evidence linking JAMOO2 to the WFWP, despite the fact that the organization played a critical role in funding the school’s operations, alongside the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA. According to Véronique Diop, the school’s principal and head of the local NGO that applied for the ODA, the officials acted in a heavy-handed manner, leaving her little choice but to comply in order to protect the school.

Kubota points out that the school had always operated openly, with its connections to the WFWP well-known and appreciated by both the Senegalese government and the United Nations. In fact, the entire JAMOO project, launched by WFWP in 1995, had been highly successful in empowering women in Senegal. The application for ODA funds was not meant to hide the WFWP’s involvement but rather to access additional resources, with the suggestion to apply as a local NGO coming from the Japanese Embassy itself. This advice predated the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the subsequent surge of negative attention towards the Family Federation / Unification Church in Japan.

The article underscores the political motives behind the Ministry’s actions, with journalist Kubota arguing that the Japanese government sought to prevent further scrutiny of Kishida’s administration. The Communist Party continued to question the government’s ties to the Unification Church, and Kubota claims that the Ministry’s visit to Senegal was part of a larger effort to protect Kishida from criticism. The report concludes by noting that while Kishida has announced his resignation, the scandal may signal the beginning of deeper investigations into his administration’s activities.

Ultimately, the article paints a picture of political maneuvering by Japanese officials, who prioritized their domestic political concerns over the welfare of the school and the women it served in Senegal. Kubota criticizes this approach, highlighting the human cost of the scandal, particularly the stress it caused for Diop, who fell ill after being pressured by Japanese officials. The Weekly Shincho concludes that the Ministry’s actions were a regrettable attempt to cover up connections that were never hidden to begin with.

Featured image above: Japanese Foreign Ministry envoys at the JAMOO2 school in Senegal. Photo: Bitter Winter

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