Japan Exporting Repression: Global Ripple Effect

Global warning issued as democratic Japan sets a dangerous precedent exporting its repression of faith minorities, a move already copied by less democratic regimes

“If a government can dissolve a religious group based on social stigma instead of criminal evidence, no minority is safe.”

(Continued from first part)

Second part (final) of a speech by Peter Zoehrer, Journalist & Executive Director, FOREF Europe at the 8th annual conference of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe) at the University of Vienna. The speech was delivered on the 3rd day of the conference, on 10th July 2025, in a session on second-generation members of, and apostates from, new religious movements in Japan and elsewhere. The conference is a premier international forum for scholarly exchange on religion’s role amid socio-cultural transformation. The European Academy of Religion is known as the major forum for academic research on religion and its relevance for society.

See part 1: Urgent Need to Resist State-Led Persecution

5. Real-World Consequences: The Human Cost

Beyond the legal arguments and diplomatic implications lies a deeper human tragedy: the daily suffering of ordinary believers – especially among the second-generation – who have been scapegoated for a crime they had no part in.

Since the dissolution order was filed, Church [See editor’s note below] members have experienced:

• Mobbing and bullying in schools and universities
• Rejected applications and blocked access to education
• Bank accounts frozen, car rentals denied
• Public venues withheld from use
• Marriages destroyed under social pressure
• Job interviews canceled after religious affiliation was revealed
• Social and interfaith exclusion
• And in some tragic cases, depression and suicide

You will soon hear the powerful video testimony of Seijin, a second-gen member whose life has been deeply affected by this campaign. His story reveals the silent emotional toll of being stigmatized and scapegoated by the state and media alike.

6. CCP Endorsement: A Chilling Signal

Shockingly, China’s Global Times – a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party – praised Japan’s crackdown, calling it a “positive example” and encouraging other nations to follow suit. ¹

This endorsement comes from a regime known for:

• Cultural genocide in Tibet
• The internment of over a million Uyghur Muslims
• The banning of house churches, Falun Gong, and other groups

If the CCP applauds Japan’s actions, something is gravely wrong. Democracies should never adopt tactics that win praise from authoritarian regimes.

7. The Copycat Effect: From Asia to Africa and Europe

The repercussions are global. Across Africa, at least five nations are now considering or implementing restrictions against minority religions.

In Rwanda, more than 5,000 Christian churches were shut down under the pretense of “public order”. ² A regulation banning groups that reference a messiah has now passed.

Even South Africa is currently debating laws to monitor and potentially dissolve religious organizations deemed “controversial” or “harmful to public harmony.” ³

In Europe, especially France, government agencies like MIVILUDES – in coordination with FECRIS, a network of anti-cult organizations – have reportedly consulted with Japanese officials to explore similar strategies. ⁴

This is not religious reform. It is the spread of soft totalitarianism: where bureaucratic tools replace open repression, and religion is quietly erased under the cover of legality.

8. Why This Matters for All of Us

Let me be clear: this is not a theological debate. It is a matter of principle.

If a government can dissolve a religious group based on social stigma instead of criminal evidence, no minority is safe. Today it’s the Unification Church [See editor’s note below] – tomorrow it could be another community.

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”
– Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18

This right is not dependent on popularity, orthodoxy, or state approval. It is either universal – or it means nothing at all.

9. A Call to Moral and Academic Leadership

This university is a beacon of knowledge. This conference is a forum of conscience. So I appeal to you:

• Academics: Challenge the Japanese narrative with rigorous scholarship
• Journalists: Break the media firewall and restore balance to public discourse
• Governments and NGOs: Speak out clearly and courageously – before this becomes a global norm

The dissolution of the Unification Church [See editor’s note below] in Japan is not a routine legal measure. It is a dangerous precedent. If left unchallenged, it will become the template for religious repression worldwide.

Let us choose courage over conformity. Truth over propaganda. Let us protect freedom – before it’s too late.

Thank you.

See part 1: Urgent Need to Resist State-Led Persecution

Footnotes:

1. “China’s Global Times hails Japan’s crackdown on the Unification Church,” Global Times, Nov 2023.
2. “Rwanda closes thousands of churches,” Reuters, March 2018.
3. FOR SA and South African religious freedom watchdog reports, 2024–2025.
4. Reports from CAP-LC, OSCE HDIM side events, and European Parliament Intergroup on FoRB, 2023–2025.

Featured image above: Peter Zoehrer, journalist and Executive Director of FOREF Europe. Here, in Tokyo, Japan in April 2023. Photo: FOREF

[Editor’s note: Although Peter Zoehrer uses the word “church”, please be aware that the Unification Church in Japan in 2015 changed its name to Family Federation for World peace and Unification.]

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