Justice Twisted: Assumptions Replaced Evidence

Religious head points out that after the Prime Minister changed course overnight and made the impossible possible, the judiciary passed verdict based on assumptions, not evidence

Part 2 of an interview (extensive excerpts) with Tomihiro Tanaka, President of the Family Federation in Japan, published by the well-known monthly opinion magazine Seiron (正論) in its June 2025 issue. Translated from Japanese. Republished in English with permission. Seiron is a publication by the Sankei Shimbun, one of Japan’s five national daily newspapers. Previously republished as two articles in Bitter Winter on 27th and 28th May. 

See part 1: Politics Overruled the Law in Dissolution Case

See part 3: Massive Rights Abuses Shatter State Narrative

See part 4: Dispelling Myths Behind Horrendous Persecution

The Authorities Changed the Rules to Punish Persecuted Religious Minority

Interviewer: Fumihiro Kato, author

Outrageous – Changing the rules to punish us

Tanaka: On the following day, 18^th October 2022, during a session of the House Budget Committee, Kishida responded to questions from Akira Nagatsuma of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP). Nagatsuma pointed out that under the current legal interpretation, dissolution was not possible, and demanded civil torts (wrongdoings according to civil law) recognized in civil court judgments should be included as grounds for dissolution. His point was,

“You can’t dissolve them unless you change the rules.”

But Kishida replied that civil torts would not be included, emphasizing the importance of due process and rejecting the proposal. In response, Nagatsuma criticized the government’s stance, saying it was “unbelievable”.

Then the next day, in the House of Councillors Budget Committee, Kishida completely reversed himself, stating that civil torts could indeed be grounds for dissolution.

MP Hiroyuki Konishi, who was questioning Kishida, expressed disbelief, saying, “This is the very definition of inconsistency.”

What we can infer from this whole sequence is that, unable to dissolve us under the existing rules, they were forced to change the rules and then apply them retroactively to drive forward the dissolution process. This is a serious error. It’s an unacceptable breach of procedure, and allowing such outrageous actions would collapse the rule of law.

At the very least, if the government was going to overturn a Cabinet decision, it should have convened a Cabinet meeting and passed a resolution. But that didn’t happen. In the first place, I doubt there is any precedent in developed nations for using civil torts in civil court as grounds to dissolve a religious corporation.

The words of a nation’s Prime Minister carry great weight. Bureaucrats have no choice but to comply. What followed was an acceleration of events that brought us to where we are now – this is nothing short of a historic incident. The international community will also view it with severity. We absolutely cannot accept it. We will promptly appeal and fight this thoroughly.

A Decision Full of Assumptions

– It’s reported that the court recognized 1,559 victims of donation-related harm, amounting to 20,448 billion yen.

Tanaka: However, these were not newly recognized damages, nor were new compensation payments imposed. These cases involved payments that had already been made following the resolution of disputes between private individuals. The government revived these past cases and compiled the figures, claiming, “There were so many, and they were so terrible, that it warrants dissolution.”

One of the key issues in the court ruling was whether our organization displayed continuity in its alleged wrongdoings – one of the criteria Prime Minister Kishida cited when calling for dissolution, along with organizational nature and maliciousness. Since 2009, we have promoted reform within our organization under our “Compliance Declaration” [See editor’s note below]. As a result, there have been only four civil lawsuits over donations since 2009, and none since 2016.

We vigorously challenged the government’s use of older civil cases from before 2009. Struggling to prove continuity, the government submitted written statements from 157 individuals drawn from 22 lawsuits. To argue that continuity existed, the government also included cases that had been settled, informal agreements and notices.

We pointed out that some of these written statements included fabrications.

Yet the court recognized not only lawsuits and settlements but even informal notices as evidence of illegal conduct. Their reasoning was, “It is presumed that unlawful acts occurred.” No mention was made of the alleged fabrications in the written statements. Although the court acknowledged the decrease in lawsuits, it ruled that this had no bearing on the issue of continuity. They claimed that our Compliance Declaration [See editor’s note below] lacked demonstrable effectiveness and described it as a mere stopgap measure – saying we had not changed in essence, only feigned reform.

They determined facts based on speculation rather than evidence. We intend to vigorously contest this injustice.

Continued in part 3.

See part 1: Politics Overruled the Law in Dissolution Case

See part 3: Massive Rights Abuses Shatter State Narrative

See part 4: Dispelling Myths Behind Horrendous Persecution

Featured image above: Tomihiro Tanaka, President of the Family Federation in Japan, at a press conference on the day of the dissolution verdict 25th March 2025. Photo: Screenshot from live transmission by FFWPU.

[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 assumptions replaced evidence: Japan Following the Way of China

Also related to assumptions replaced evidence: Japan’s Dissolution Case Echoes China’s Playbook

And also related to assumptions replaced evidence: “Lawyers Lying and Shaming Japan” for 50 Years

More, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Lawfare: State Uses Legal System in War on Faith

Also related to assumptions replaced evidence: Media/Legal Expert: Communism Behind Persecution

And more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Militant Lawyers Dictate Government Policy

And more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Media Helping Terrorist Reach His Goal

Related to assumptions replaced evidence: Kishida Administration Giving in to Terrorism

And more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: 12 Religious Freedom NGOs Denouncing Japan

Yet more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Japanese Communists’ Final War

Still more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Political and Social Activism behind Oppression

And yet more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Opposition Inciting Regime to Excessive Steps

And still more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Journalist Reveals Ugly Leftwing Conspiracy

And even more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Gingrich: Kishida Joining Communist Campaign

Yet more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: The 3 Enemies of Religious Liberty

Still more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Lawyer Exposes Dirty Leftwing Plot

And yet more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Inhuman Government-Supported Mass Deprogramming

And still more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Bias: No Right to Respond for Religious Minority

And even more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Collusion to Rob Minority of Its Rights

Yet more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: State and Media Creating “Today’s Non-Citizens”

Still more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Japan Criticized for Glaring Rights Violations

And yet more, related to assumptions replaced evidence: Two European Scholars Warning Japan