Law Expert: Verdict Violates Basic Principles

Experienced expert on religious corporations’ law claims basic principles are set aside in ruling of Japanese Supreme Court against religious minority the Family Federation 

Tokyo, 3rd February 2025 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article. 

[Series] Request for Dissolution Order of the Family Federation – Suspicions of Fabricated Statements by the Ministry of Education

Interview with an expert: “Victim” Reports Directly Used as Evidence

Seishiro Sugihara, professor of the former Musashino Women’s University: “Dissolution Request to Become a Major Issue”

by the editorial department of Sekai Nippo

Part 2 of the article

See part 1, part 3

See also Flawed, Deceptive Evidence Gathering by State

See also Civil Case Ruling Shows Partiality of Judiciary

Q: According to one case investigated by this newspaper, a devoted Family Federation believer had been actively involved and had made donations. She signed a statement without understanding its contents after turning 90 and becoming physically disabled.

It is not surprising that statements like this were included, given that they were created by MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) officials with no expertise in gathering such testimonies.

As I mentioned earlier, if a dissolution request is made using such sloppy statements as evidence, it will eventually lead to a major issue. Furthermore, the fact that this process is being carried out without a public trial will only make the problem even more serious.

Q: Some elderly Family Federation believers have written memorandums affirming that they do not seek a refund of their donations. Among their children, some are believers while others oppose the faith. In one lawsuit seeking a refund filed by those who opposed the faith, the Family Federation won in both the first and second trials, but after the parent’s death, the Supreme Court remanded the case to the High Court in July of last year. This case is expected to have repercussions for many religious organizations beyond the Family Federation.

On 11^th July last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the statement affirming no refund claim was invalid. The case was as follows:

An elderly woman, referred to as Ms. X, who was a member of the Family Federation, had made significant donations to the organization over a long period. In November 2015, she submitted a notarized memorandum to the Family Federation stating that she would not seek restitution for unjust enrichment or damages based on fraud, coercion, or violations of public order and morality.

However, by May of the same year, Ms. X had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Her eldest daughter applied to become her voluntary guardian and was appointed as such. Later, in March, Ms. X filed the lawsuit seeking a refund, but she passed away in July 2021.

Before her death, her eldest daughter had Ms. X write a will stating that any refunded donations would be bequeathed entirely to her. The daughter then continued the lawsuit. The Tokyo District Court and Tokyo High Court both dismissed the lawsuit. However, the Supreme Court overturned the High Court’s ruling in favor of the Family Federation, declared the notarized memorandum invalid, and sent the case back to the Tokyo High Court for further review.

The problem with this Supreme Court ruling is that it invalidates the memorandum on the grounds that a person of faith cannot make rational decisions. Additionally, it justifies this ruling by citing the December 2022 “Act on Prevention of Unfair Solicitation of Donations by Corporations, etc.”, which was legislated amid the heated controversy surrounding the Family Federation issue.

This violates the fundamental legal principle of non-retroactivity, which is a cornerstone of the rule of law and legal governance. How could the Supreme Court trample on such a basic legal principle?

Even if Ms. X had dementia, declaring her earlier statement invalid while recognizing the validity of a later lawsuit – filed at a time when her condition had likely worsened – along with a will that allowed her daughter to claim all refunded donations, is itself a ruling that runs counter to public order and morality.

Continued in part 3.

See part 1, part 3

See also Flawed, Deceptive Evidence Gathering by State

See also Civil Case Ruling Shows Partiality of Judiciary

Featured image above: Japanese judges issuing a verdict. Illustration: Microsoft Designer Image Creator, 2024.

Seishiro Sugihara, born in 1941 in Hiroshima Prefecture. Completed a master’s degree in education at the University of Tokyo Graduate School in 1967. Served as a professor at Josai University and Musashino Women’s University (now Musashino University).
Notable publications include The Ideal Separation of Religion and State and Constitutional Revision (Jiyusha, 2015). Co-authored The Disease Called Shigeru Yoshida (Jiyusha, 2021).

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