Japan: Establishing A New Compensation Committee

Compensation Committee that will operate independently from the Family Federation to review and determine the contents of compensation for claimants neutrally and fairly

Regarding the Establishment of a Compensation Committee

Press Release

Family Federation for World Peace and Unification
Public Relations and External Affairs Bureau

Press release issued by the Family Federation of Japan 29^th October 2025 concerning the Family Federation establishing a Compensation Committee that will operate independently from the Family Federation to review and determine the contents of compensation for claimants neutrally and fairly. See original article in Japanese.

See also Long-Running Donation Claims Settled in Japan

See also Buddhist head: “Donations as Spiritual Training”

See also Press Release: Final Submission to Appeal Court

See also Warning Signal from Japan: Dangerous Precedent

See also Japan: President Tanaka (69) Names Hori Successor

Out of reflection on the fact that our organization had faced numerous civil lawsuits in the past, we issued a Compliance Declaration in 2009 [See editor’s note 1 below], and since then we have continuously worked toward church reform.

After the incident [assassination] involving former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, we further strengthened our reforms, such as by establishing specific procedures for receiving donations.

As a result of these efforts, the number of lawsuits and complaints related to donations has decreased dramatically in recent years.

However, given that

1. there are individuals participating in the so-called “group mediation” [See editor’s note 2 below] who continue to raise claims of harm, and the Tokyo District Court’s dissolution order stated that “the existence of unmanifested damage cannot be denied,” and
2. we have received recommendations from the members of the Compensation Committee,

we have decided to change our previous policy and move forward toward becoming a religious organization that is open to society and trusted by the public, offering peace of mind and confidence to the people of Japan.

Specifically, we will shift away from our previous approach – which was based strictly on law and evidence – and will now face those who claim harm in the group mediation process directly, going beyond the legal framework to pursue an early resolution.

In addition, to respond appropriately to the above-mentioned court decision, we have asked independent and impartial lawyers – who can make fair and just judgments from a standpoint separate from our organization – to form a Compensation Committee, and we have begun efforts to resolve the issue through this new framework.

The Compensation Committee will operate independently from our organization, reviewing and determining the contents of compensation neutrally and fairly, from the standpoint of social appropriateness.

Our organization will, of course, accept the committee’s decisions, and will fully cooperate by providing necessary materials (such as donation records) for the committee’s reviews and deliberations.

(According to the committee, decisions on compensation will not be made solely on the presence or absence of records; rather, the committee will conduct hearings and other inquiries to assess the plausibility of donation facts from multiple perspectives.)

As for the members of the Compensation Committee, in addition to four lawyers from the Hashimoto General Law Office (Representative: Attorney Toru Hashimoto – 橋下徹), we have heard that Attorney Masaru Wakasa (若狭勝) will participate in specific examinations as an advisor. Attorney Kazuya Maruyama (丸山和也) is providing neutral, fair, and comprehensive guidance.

The Compensation Committee will be based in Osaka, where it will handle all administrative matters, and plans to launch a compensation application website on 31^st October. Applications will generally be accepted until 31^st March.

For details on the specific compensation framework and procedures, please refer to the announcements from the Compensation Committee.

See also Long-Running Donation Claims Settled in Japan

See also Press Release: Final Submission to Appeal Court

See also Buddhist head: “Donations as Spiritual Training”

See also Warning Signal from Japan: Dangerous Precedent

See also Social Media, Reporting Cited as Fueling Terror

See also Japan: President Tanaka (69) Names Hori Successor

Featured image above: Two Japanese men shaking hands in front of Family Federation logo. Illustration: ChatGPT, 30th October 2025.

[Editor’s note 1: 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.]

[Editor’s note 2: The group mediation referred to here is a mediation process between the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Japan and a network of activist leftwing lawyers called National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales. The hostile network of lawyers represents a group of 186 petitioners.

On 28th October 2025, the Family Federation of Japan issued a press release about the group mediation, writing,

“With respect to the group mediation currently being conducted between our organization and the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales (hereinafter, ‘the Lawyers’ Group’), we hereby report that a settlement has been reached with a portion of the petitioners.

Our organization has, from the beginning, responded to each of the 186 mediation cases sincerely and individually.

We have conducted thorough fact-finding investigations and promptly submitted the results to both the petitioners and the court.

We have also provided, to the fullest extent possible, all materials in our possession that the petitioners requested for submission and have earnestly engaged in discussions.

Under these circumstances, beginning this year, the Lawyers’ Group requested urgent resolution for certain petitioners, such as those aged 80 or older or suffering from serious illnesses.

In response, our organization decided to significantly change its approach – shifting from handling each case individually to pursuing early resolution as a general policy.

After multiple mediation sessions, on 27^th October, we successfully reached settlement agreements with 39 petitioners who are elderly or have other special circumstances.

Our organization will continue to face each petitioner with sincerity and will remain committed to achieving an early and comprehensive resolution of this matter.”]

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