Japan’s Dissolution Case Echoes China’s Playbook

China’s playbook? How Japan’s media and courts follow a communist narrative in dissolution case 

Tokyo, 1st April 2025 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article. 

The Dissolution Order of the Family Federation Progresses as China Intended

Newspapers Have Been Reduced to Government Mouthpieces

by Kiyoshi Masu (増 記代司)

China, where there is no religious freedom

See also Japan Copying Faith-Breaking Concepts of China

See also Assaults on Religious Freedom: China and Japan

See also Communists of China Exploiting Assassination

The Tokyo District Court has decided to order the dissolution of the former Unification Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification), a decision that seems to echo China’s triumphant laughter.

Religious freedom is one of the fundamental human rights in modern society. This is a universally accepted norm. Even the Chinese Communist Party claims in its constitution that “citizens have freedom of religious belief” (Article 36). However, the latter part of the article is the real issue. It goes on to state that “the state protects normal religious activities,” with the Communist regime, naturally, deciding what is considered “normal”.

Religious groups that are deemed “abnormal”, meaning those that do not align with the Communist Party’s interests, are labeled as “cults” and suppressed.

After the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (安倍晋三), when Japanese media widely reported that the suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami (山上徹也), was motivated by resentment toward the religious organization, China boasted that it had long ago recognized the group as an “evil cult” (邪教) and outlawed it.

The Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Global Times claimed that this demonstrated the correctness of China’s effort to eradicate cults, stating,

“If Yamagami had been living in China, the government would have helped him pursue justice and eliminate this religious group.”

This was essentially China preaching to Japan, portraying the terrorist as a justified figure. (Kyodo News / Mainichi Shimbun, 30^th July 2022, online edition).

Since then, the issue surrounding the religious group has unfolded precisely as China has preached. When the Consumer Affairs Agency convened a review panel on fraudulent religious sales practices on 29^th August 2022, attorney Masaki Kito (紀藤正樹) of the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales brought a contact list of the “Christian Liaison Committee on Cult Issues” as material. He labeled the group a cult and called on the government to intervene (i.e., eradicate the organization). Kito’s stance essentially mirrored that of the Chinese government.

Media jumping to conclusions

Leftist media outlets also unilaterally labeled the group as a cult, stirred sympathy for the terrorist, and waged a campaign against the religious organization that seemed to “help him pursue justice” by seeking its eradication. The court’s order to dissolve the group is merely a continuation of this narrative.

In a democratic society, the pursuit of truth is supposed to be the journalist’s mission. However, Japanese media have effectively abandoned this duty. Instead of investigating the court’s decision, they merely reported it as it was stated, with almost no newspapers making an effort to uncover the truth. Such behavior is characteristic of government-controlled newspapers – essentially identical to those in China.

Seishiro Sugihara (杉原誠四郎), former professor at Musashino Women’s University, criticized the “dissolution order as a non-transparent administrative act” (Sankei Shimbun, 26^th March edition), pointing out,

“The testimonies submitted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology from so-called victims are sloppy in content, lack evidential credibility, and should be examined in an open trial.”

However, the media has completely ignored such perspectives.

Particularly, leftist newspapers, which usually champion the Constitution, have remained silent. Article 32 of the Constitution guarantees that “no person shall be denied the right to a trial,” and Article 82 mandates that “court trials and judgments shall be conducted in public […] and cases involving fundamental rights under Chapter 3 of the Constitution must always be held publicly.” Yet, no newspaper is discussing this issue. A trial without transparency – this is precisely China’s specialty.

Warning of deterioration of Japan-U.S. alliance

In November 2022, when the Diet was debating new legislation to assist victims of fraudulent religious practices, House of Representatives member Goshi Hosono (細野豪志) remarked in an online Sankei Shimbun article (8^th November 2022 edition):

“(Abe’s assassination) has destroyed the democratic process of elections. Is it right to legislate based on the intentions of a terrorist? We must not allow the perpetrator to be regarded as a ‘successful terrorist’.”

The dissolution order is, in fact, an act that creates a “successful terrorist”, following China’s exact narrative. On 24^th March 2025, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “the current attack on the Family Federation in Japan is an attempt to weaken the Japan-U.S. alliance and pave the way for reconciliation between the Chinese Communist Party and Japan.” (Sankei Shimbun, 26^th March edition). This view is not entirely off the mark.

Text: Kiyoshi Masu (増 記代司)

See also Japan Copying Faith-Breaking Concepts of China

See also Assaults on Religious Freedom: China and Japan

See also Communists of China Exploiting Assassination

Featured image above: Japan being influenced by communist China. Illustration: Microsoft Designer Image Creator, April 2025.

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