Cruel Orchestrated Campaign to Break Believers

Victim held locked up for  for over 12 years reveals dark reality of orchestrated campaign made up of abductions, forcible detention and dehumanizing faith-breaking

Part 4 of a talk given 10^th February 2025, in Tokyo, at the official launch of the book “Deadly Struggle: Surviving 4,536 Days of Confinement” by Toru Goto (後藤徹), held captive for 12 years and 5 months in an attempt to have his faith broken.

See part 1, part 2, part 3, part 5, part 6

See also Apartment Prison: Faith-Breaking in Modern Japan

See also Appealing Verdict Based on Mind Control Myth

This did not happen only to me. As I mentioned earlier, the peak of abduction and confinement cases was in 1992. That was the year when celebrities participated in a mass wedding, and the media sensationalized the event on talk shows. At that time, there were 375 cases in a single year – more than one per day. Can you imagine? At that time, these confinement apartments existed all across Japan. They were everywhere, and there were over 100 people undergoing forced de-conversion (faith-breaking) at the same time. The reality was that these confinements were happening simultaneously across the country.

In such closed-off spaces, truly tragic events occurred. This woman, known as Ms. T, received a marriage blessing with a Korean man in 1995 and moved to South Korea to start her family. She was living a happy newlywed life when she returned to Japan temporarily in 1997. It was at that time that she was abducted and confined in an apartment in Kyoto. It is known that a certain pastor in Kyoto was involved. We do not know exactly what happened to her during her confinement. However, she attempted suicide in the bathroom and was taken to the hospital, where she ultimately passed away.

She may have feared that if she remained confined, she would be destroyed. Perhaps she thought that by being taken to a hospital, she could escape. I personally believe she had no intention of dying – after all, she had a husband waiting for her in Korea. She was only 27 years old. If not for the abduction and confinement, her life would not have been lost. The greatest tragedy was for her husband, who had bid her farewell in Korea with a smile, only to receive sudden news of her death. The depth of his grief, anger, and suffering is unimaginable.

(Showing image) This is Asako Shukuya (宿谷麻子). She is featured prominently in a book titled Our Unpleasant Neighbors, written by Kazuhiro Yonemoto (米本和広), a former anti-cult journalist. Ms. Shukuya was confined for five months and was forced to renounce her faith. I knew her personally and heard her story.

The trauma she suffered was immense. She developed severe PTSD, bipolar disorder, insomnia, and nightmares. She also suffered from atopic dermatitis. The photograph above shows how she suffered terribly, almost to the point of death. However, she was fortunate to have a supportive husband, and over time, she reconciled with her parents. The lower photograph shows her after she had recovered significantly.

Although she was a former believer who had left the Unification Church, she was committed to ensuring that no one else would suffer as she had. She even became involved in my legal case as a supporter and fought alongside us to eradicate abduction and confinement. However, after making efforts to reintegrate into society, she tragically passed away at a young age.

This photograph was taken when Ms. Shukuya was actively working to address the issue of abduction and confinement. I am the one holding my head on the right. On the far left is Dr. Hirohisa Koide (小出浩久).

About 15 years ago, Ms. Shukuya organized a gathering called “Severing and Repairing Parent-Child Relationships”. The woman to the right is her mother. Despite being a former believer herself, she dedicated herself wholeheartedly to confronting individuals one by one and working to resolve the issue of abduction and confinement. I want to express my deepest gratitude to her.

Why did the damage caused by abduction and confinement spread so widely? It was because the practice became organized, information was shared, and methods were systematized. No matter which victim you speak to, their experiences are strikingly similar. The methods of abduction, the timing of when pastors would appear, and even the way they were forced to trample on religious images (fumi-e) [See editor’s note below] – all of this was coordinated among the many deprogrammers (faith-breakers). Through shared information, they became increasingly organized, leading to widespread suffering.

Continued in part 5.

See part 1, part 2, part 3, part 5, part 6

See also Apartment Prison: Faith-Breaking in Modern Japan

See also Appealing Verdict Based on Mind Control Myth

Featured image above: One of the many confinement apartments that existed all across Japan. Here, the location of the 8th floor apartment in Ogikubo, Tokyo where Toru Goto was held captive and dehumanized. Photo: National Association of Victims of Abduction, Confinement, and Forced Deconversion

[Editor’s note: The illustration to the left depicts a fumi-e (踏み絵), which literally means “stepping-on picture” – typically an image of the Cross, Jesus Christ, or the Virgin Mary. The Tokugawa Shogunate used this practice to identify hidden Christians (known as Kirishitan) and their sympathizers during a time when Christianity was banned in Japan. While the act of stepping on these images was originally called efumi (絵踏), the term fumi-e is now commonly used to refer to both the practice and the object itself.

Those who hesitated or refused to step on the images were suspected of being Christians. They were taken to Nagasaki and ordered to renounce their faith. If they refused, they faced torture – and if they continued to resist, execution, often by burning at the stake.

This systematic persecution began in 1614 and was enforced by regional authorities. By the mid-17th century, the Tokugawa Shogunate had escalated its crackdown, ordering the expulsion of all European missionaries and the execution of Japanese converts. The suppression of Christianity continued for more than two centuries.]

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