How Media Narrative Was Changed to Attack Faith

Fact-checker reveals how media framing turned Japan’s Family Federation into scapegoat during the national tragedy of the 2022 Abe assassination

In the aftermath of the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (安倍晋三) in July 2022, public attention quickly shifted from mourning the national tragedy to intense scrutiny of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly known as the Unification Church). According to an analysis presented by Japanese author, journalist and fact-checker Fumihiro Kato (加藤文宏), this dramatic change did not occur naturally. Rather, he argues that it resulted from a carefully reinforced media narrative that transformed the religious organization into the focus of a nationwide political controversy.

See also part 2: The Anatomy of Japan’s Hostile Media Campaign

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Kato’s findings were discussed in a lengthy interview with literary critic Eitaro Ogawa (小川榮太郎) and later analyzed by Italian sociologist of religion Dr. Massimo Introvigne in Bitter Winter, the international online magazine focusing on religious freedom and human rights. Using statistical analysis of thousands of news reports and social media posts, Kato sought to understand how public opinion developed so rapidly in favor of dissolving the Family Federation.

Rather than focusing primarily on allegations against the religious organization itself, Kato argues that Japanese media concentrated on political connections – especially alleged links between the organization and members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Through repeated reporting, he believes these political associations came to be viewed as inherently suspicious, creating an atmosphere in which calls for dissolving the religious organization gained widespread support.

Kato’s research also raises broader questions about the relationship between activism, journalism, politics, and the courts. If public opinion can be shaped through repeated media framing rather than concrete evidence of ongoing wrongdoing, he warns, the implications extend beyond one religious movement and touch fundamental principles such as judicial independence, due process, and freedom of religion.

According to journalist Fumihiro Kato, the public narrative surrounding the Family Federation changed with remarkable speed after Shinzo Abe was assassinated on 8^th July 2022.

During the first hours after the shooting, television coverage focused almost entirely on the national shock and grief over Abe’s death. However, that emphasis shifted within a very short time.

Later that same evening, a newspaper interview suggested that the assassin had acted for a reason. At a police press conference in Nara, information emerged that the suspect’s mother had belonged to an unnamed religious organization. Although the organization was not immediately identified, media attention began moving away from the assassination itself toward the possible religious background of the killer.

Two days later, on the morning of Japan’s Upper House election, the weekly photo magazine “FLASH” published a story portraying the assassin as a victim who had suffered as a “second-generation believer” [See editor’s note below]. From that point onward, coverage increasingly focused on religious issues, financial donations, consumer complaints, and the experiences of children raised in religious families.

Kato argues that by 11^th July the news media had effectively begun treating the Family Federation as a national crisis.

To examine whether this impression could be measured objectively, Kato analyzed more than 4,200 posts published by Japanese news organizations on X (formerly Twitter) between July 2022 and May 2023.

The results surprised him.

During July alone, approximately 300 news articles about the religious organization appeared. In August, that number rose to nearly 1,000. Yet when Kato examined the language used in these reports, he found that the most common words were not “donations”, “victims”, or “fraud”.

Instead, the dominant terms referred to politics. Frequently appearing words included “lawmakers”, “Prime Minister”, “organization”, “ties”, and “Liberal Democratic Party” (LDP). Former Prime Minister Abe and then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were mentioned repeatedly.

According to Kato, this suggests that the central theme of the reporting was political responsibility rather than alleged misconduct by the religious organization itself.

The word “ties” appeared especially often. Although reports repeatedly referred to connections between politicians and the Family Federation, they rarely explained precisely what those ties consisted of. Kato believes that, through constant repetition, the mere existence of any connection gradually came to be viewed as evidence of wrongdoing.

See more by Kato: Main Target of Hounding Not Church, but LDP

See more by Kato: Study Shows Wildly Exaggerated Unfounded Claims

Continued in part 2: The Anatomy of Japan’s Hostile Media Campaign

See also When Religious Intolerance Turns Violent

See also Police Trust Shattered After Forced Confinement

See also Liquidation Takes Psychological Toll on Members

See also “Even 20 Years If Needed”: Believers Vow to Endure

See also BBC, Bias, and the Weaponization of Language

Text: Knut Holdhus, editor

Featured image above: Japanese journalist and fact-checker Fumihiro Kato (加藤文宏) and literary critic Eitaro Ogawa (小川榮太郎). Photo: Bitter Winter  

[Editor’s note: The term “second-generation religious believer” – in Japanese 宗教2世 (shūkyō nisei – generally refers to people who were raised in a religion by parents who belonged to a religious organization, rather than joining it themselves as adults.]

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