Dissolution Case: Inflated Damages, Forced Logic

The Tokyo High Court appeal exposes Japanese government’s forced logic and number of “victims” hugely inflated by hostile lawyers

Tokyo, 12th September 2025 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article.

[Series] Order to Dissolve the Family Federation: Examining the District Court’s Decision (Part 1) 

No Rational Basis for Recognizing “Continuity”; Ministry of Education Inflates “Victim” Numbers

by the Religious Freedom Investigative Team of the editorial department of Sekai Nippo

See part 2: MEXT’s Legal Spin and “Dissolution at All Costs”

See part 3: Court Ignored Awkward Facts in Dissolution Case

See part 4: Court Applies Unique Criteria for Dissolution

The appeal hearing over the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)’s request to dissolve the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU, formerly the Unification Church) is underway at the Tokyo High Court. On 25^th March, the Tokyo District Court’s 8^th Civil Division – Presiding Judge Kenya Suzuki (鈴木謙也) – issued a ruling ordering dissolution. But is there really a rational basis for recognizing the “continuity” of unlawful acts after the church’s 2009 Compliance Declaration? [See editor’s note below] Based on the district court’s written decision, we trace back to MEXT’s original request for dissolution and examine the grounds.

The turning point when the government (MEXT) began moving toward dissolution came on 19^th October 2022. Then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (岸田文雄) abruptly shifted the government’s interpretation of the “violation of laws and regulations” requirement for dissolution under the Religious Corporations Act. Up until then, the interpretation followed a 1995 Tokyo High Court ruling on Aum Shinrikyo (confirmed by cabinet decision on 14^th October 2022 and reaffirmed in the Diet on 18^th October. Overnight, Kishida expanded the scope to include “torts under civil law” provided that the acts showed clear “organizational nature, maliciousness, and continuity.”

However, the number of finalized civil rulings holding the church liable for damages stands at 26 cases (140 plaintiffs, with a total compensation of about 1.8 billion yen – in 2025, US$12.2 million). Even adding 6 first-instance rulings (29 plaintiffs, about 377 million yen – in 2025, US$2.55 million) that ended in settlements at the high court level, the total comes to 32 cases (169 plaintiffs, about 2.17 billion yen – in 2025, US$14.75 million).

Of these 32 cases, 30 involved holding the church liable as an employer for members’ unlawful acts, while only 2 recognized direct liability of the church itself. The plaintiffs’ “donations, etc.” at issue spanned from 1979 to 2014. Only 1 case (1 plaintiff, approx. 4.76 million yen – in 2025, US$32,300) involved donations that began after 2010 – the period when the Compliance Declaration’s [See editor’s note below] effectiveness was being tested. Since 2015, no civil rulings have recognized the church’s liability for such donations.

These facts indicate that the Compliance Declaration [See editor’s note below] took root within the church organization and among believers, sharply reducing problems. In other words, the declaration has been effective. Even if “civil torts” were broadly included in dissolution criteria, “continuity” could not be proven – so in principle, no dissolution request should have been possible. To overcome this, MEXT employed two embellishments.

First was inflating the scale of “damage”

They counted plaintiffs in litigation settlements (94 cases, 419 people, totaling about 5.7 billion yen – in 2025, US$38.6 million – in settlement payments) and parties in out-of-court settlements (971 people, about 12.5 billion yen – in 2025, US$84.7 million) as “victims.”

But the alleged wrongful acts by believers or the church in those cases were never legally recognized by courts. Moreover, the parties had already reached agreements, received settlement or compensation payments, and their attorneys had been paid. In short, they cannot properly be called “victims”.

Why did MEXT push through such a strained logic? Because finalized civil judgments recognized liability for only 140 plaintiffs, totaling 1.8 billion yen (in 2025, US$12.2 million). That figure is far removed from the exaggerated claims spread by the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales (Zenkoku Benren). For example, attorney Masaki Kito (紀藤正樹) told the Japanese Communist Party’s Diet caucus that “the 123.7 billion yen (in 2025, US$840 million) figure is only part of the damages” and that “even if it were only one-tenth, over 1 trillion yen (in 2025, US$6.78 billion) in damages have occurred” (Shimbun Akahata, 27^th July 2022).

Thus, MEXT expanded the “damage” figures to “at least 1,559 victims and more than 20.4 billion yen (in 2025, US$138.4 million) in total losses” by including settlements. In the case of out-of-court settlements, they estimated about 913 million yen (in 2025, US$6.2 million) paid to 167 people even after the Compliance Declaration [See editor’s note below].

The mass media, without questioning how plaintiffs in settlements or private agreements could qualify as “victims of civil torts”, simply repeated the government’s announcement uncritically. In that sense, MEXT’s strategy succeeded.

See part 2: MEXT’s Legal Spin and “Dissolution at All Costs”

See part 3: Court Ignored Awkward Facts in Dissolution Case

See part 4: Court Applies Unique Criteria for Dissolution

See also Writers, Clergy Urge Rethink of Media Narrative

See also “I Never Wrote This” – Fabricated Evidence in Court?

See also “Poorly Compiled Evidence Including Falsehoods”

See also Huge Scandal: “Ministry Is Falsifying Affidavits”

See also Alleged Evidence Tampering in Dissolution Case

Featured image above: Inflated number. Illustration: Knut Holdhus 

[Editor’s note: 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.]

Related to inflated damages, forced logic: Lawfare: State Uses Legal System in War on Faith

Also related to inflated damages, forced logic: UN Report: Japan’s Lawfare Against Faith Minority

And also related to inflated damages, forced logic: Protesting No Transparency in Closed-Door Trial

More, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Dangerous Flaws in Dissolution Order Decried

Also related to inflated damages, forced logic: “Lawyers Lying and Shaming Japan” for 50 Years

And also related to inflated damages, forced logic: Japan Following the Way of China

And also related to inflated damages, forced logic: Japan’s Dissolution Case Echoes China’s Playbook

More, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Media/Legal Expert: Communism Behind Persecution

And more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Militant Lawyers Dictate Government Policy

More, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Collusion to Rob Minority of Its Rights

And more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: State and Media Creating “Today’s Non-Citizens”

Still more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Japan Copying China: State Seizure of Churches

And still more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: 12 Religious Freedom NGOs Denouncing Japan

More, related to inflated damages, forced logic: 4300 Abductions and Forcible Detentions

And more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Japan: Families Fear for Graves of Loved Ones

Yet more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Lawyers Manipulating, Coercing, Lying

Also related to inflated damages, forced logic: Kishida Follows Anti-Family Federation Minister

Also related to inflated damages, forced logic: Militant Lawyers Dictate Government Policy

Still more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Malicious One-Sided Government Source Selection

Yet more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Kishida’s Self-Defeating Populist Decisions

And still more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Japan Urged to Make U-Turn

And yet more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Dangerous Precedent to Crush Religions

And even more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Tendentious Reporting by New York Times

Still more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Japan Criticized for Glaring Rights Violations

Even more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Japan Following the Way of China

Yet more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Japanese Communists’ Final War

Still more, related to inflated damages, forced logic: Political and Social Activism behind Oppression