Massive Rights Abuses Shatter State Narrative

State narrative shattered: Activist lawyers behind system continuously producing “plaintiffs” and “victims” are main source of information for media and advisors to the authorities

Part 3 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 2: Justice Twisted: Assumptions Replaced Evidence

See part 4: Dispelling Myths Behind Horrendous Persecution

Rights Abuse Exposed: State Narrative in Crisis

Interviewer: Fumihiro Kato, author

History of Abduction, Confinement, and Forced Renunciation of Faith

– Media outlets frequently report on alleged harm caused by the religious organization, but we rarely hear about harm it suffered.

Tanaka: The media doesn’t report on it at all, but in the context of the dissolution proceedings, there is something I want readers to understand: the issue of abduction, confinement, and coercive faith-breaking [See editor’s note 2 below].

Since our founding, we have been branded as heretical by Christian churches, and that continues to this day. Christian pastors began to abduct our members and pressure them to leave our faith. This dates back to 1966, two years after we were recognized as a religious corporation.

By 1968, when our affiliated organization International Federation for Victory Over Communism was launched, left-wing groups and activists, including those affiliated with the Communist Party, began to collaborate with Christian pastors in such activities (faith-breaking) [See editor’s note 2 below].

One tactic we struggled with was having our believers kidnapped and forcibly confined in psychiatric hospitals allegedly connected to Communist groups, where they were pressured to abandon their faith. This did result in some media attention, and when we filed habeas corpus petitions [See editor’s note 1 below], the courts recognized them, leading to a decline in such activities due to human rights concerns.

However, the practice did not disappear. It evolved. So-called “deprogrammers” (faith-breakers), who coached families on how to de-convert members, became central figures. Families – parents and siblings – would abduct the believers and confine them in apartments, where pastors collaborated with deprogrammers to pressure the members to leave the religious organization.

This kind of violent forced de-conversion is known as “deprogramming” (faith-breaking) [See editor’s note 2 below]. In the United States, it has been recognized as a human rights violation and has all but disappeared. However, in Japan, it continued until 2015, when civil courts finally ruled it illegal. Although the abductions and confinement were carried out by family members, deprogrammers guided and supervised the process from start to finish. Even when police became involved, they would argue it was a “family matter”, and authorities would not intervene. No one has ever faced criminal charges for it. This is a major, largely unspoken scandal.

The confinement would last until the believers renounced their faith. In some cases, our members pretended to deconvert to escape confinement and then returned to the religious organization. After that, even claiming to deconvert wouldn’t result in release, and the confinements grew longer.

Can this be called a fair procedure?

– How does this relate to the dissolution order?

Tanaka: In the December 2023 issue of Seiron, a harrowing account was published about Toru Goto, a victim who was abducted and confined for 12 years and 5 months. He is not alone – at least 4,300 of our believers are known to have been victims of abduction and forced renunciation, and 3,000 of them ultimately abandoned their faith.

Many of those who deconverted went on to work with the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales (NNLASS), appearing in media reports and court cases.

Of the 157 written statements submitted by the government in support of the dissolution order, 88% came from victims of abduction and forced de-conversion. A significant portion of the 32 civil lawsuits cited by the government as grounds for dissolution involved plaintiffs who were deprogramming [See editor’s note 2 below] victims.

Most citizens are completely unaware of this set-up. This “inconvenient truth” has been buried because it undermines the narrative promoted by NNLASS, which is connected to deprogrammers and has become the primary source for the media. The media continues to circulate only hostile portrayals of us, and even the Japanese government proceeded with the dissolution request in collaboration with NNLASS.

Behind the scenes, however, a system that continuously produces “plaintiffs” and “victims” to attack the religious organization is being allowed to flourish, and most people are unaware of it. One must ask,

“Why are so many former believers suddenly stepping forward as ‘victims’?”

You cannot understand the situation without acknowledging this context.

However, the government collaborated only with one side and proceeded with the process. Under such conditions, there’s no way that a fair image of the religious organization could emerge. Although the court ultimately did not use the 32 civil lawsuits directly as grounds for the dissolution, it still reached its conclusion through speculation.

Continued in part 4.

See part 1: Politics Overruled the Law in Dissolution Case

See part 2: Justice Twisted: Assumptions Replaced Evidence

See part 4: Dispelling Myths Behind Horrendous Persecution

Featured image above: Illustration of Fumihiro Kato asking Tomihiro Tanaka questions during interview published in Seiron June 2025.

[Editor’s note 1: A habeas corpus petition is a legal request to a court, usually made by someone who is detained or imprisoned, asking the court to determine whether their detention or imprisonment is lawful. The main purpose of a habeas corpus petition is to protect individuals from unlawful or arbitrary detention.

The detainee, or someone acting on their behalf (such as a lawyer or family member), files the petition with a court. The court reviews the petition and may issue a writ of habeas corpus, compelling the custodian (such as a prison warden or government authority) to bring the detainee before the court. At the hearing, the custodian must provide legal justification for the detention. If the court finds the detention unlawful, it may order the detainee’s release.

Habeas corpus is considered a cornerstone of individual liberty and rule of law. It is enshrined in many constitutions and international human rights frameworks, including the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 9).]

[Editor’s note 2: Coercive faith-breaking (“deprogramming”) in Japan refers to the practice of coercively attempting to separate individuals from their religious affiliations or beliefs, typically through intervention by family members, professional faith-breakers (deprogrammers) or organizations hostile to new religious movements (NRMs). This phenomenon often targets members of such movements, e.g. relatively large faiths like the Family Federation or Jehovah’s Witnesses, but also smaller groups like Happy Science (Kōfuku no Kagaku) and other newer religious movements.

However, also Soka Gakkai, a Buddhist-based lay organization with more than 8 million Japanese members, and affiliated with Nichiren Buddhism, has occasionally been subject to faith-breaking attempts.

The practice gained attention in the latter half of the 20th century, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. Parents or concerned family members often hired faith-breakers who taught them how to abduct and forcibly detain believers. Almost all such cases involved confining the individual believer and cutting him or her off from the religious community. During the confinement, the believer was subjected to intense questioning or indoctrination designed to break his or her faith. The aim was to “rescue” the person from what the family often had been tricked by faith-breakers or lawyers to regard as harmful influence from the religious organization.

Critics of forced de-conversion argue that it violates fundamental human rights, including freedom of thought, religion, and association. Reports of psychological trauma and accusations of unlawful detention have sparked debates over its ethical and legal implications. In response, some religious groups, particularly NRMs, have lobbied for greater protections against such practices.

Japanese courts have been inconsistent in addressing cases of coercive faith-breaking. While some verdicts have condemned the practice as illegal detention, others have been more lenient, citing family concerns about “mental health” or alleged “exploitation” as mitigating factors.]

Related to state narrative shattered: Japan Following the Way of China

Also related to state narrative shattered: Japan’s Dissolution Case Echoes China’s Playbook

And also related to state narrative shattered: “Lawyers Lying and Shaming Japan” for 50 Years

More, related to state narrative shattered: Lawfare: State Uses Legal System in War on Faith

Also related to state narrative shattered: Media/Legal Expert: Communism Behind Persecution

And more, related to state narrative shattered: Militant Lawyers Dictate Government Policy

And more, related to state narrative shattered: Media Helping Terrorist Reach His Goal

Related to state narrative shattered: Kishida Administration Giving in to Terrorism

And more, related to state narrative shattered: 12 Religious Freedom NGOs Denouncing Japan

Yet more, related to state narrative shattered: Japanese Communists’ Final War

Still more, related to state narrative shattered: Political and Social Activism behind Oppression

And yet more, related to state narrative shattered: Opposition Inciting Regime to Excessive Steps

And still more, related to state narrative shattered: Journalist Reveals Ugly Leftwing Conspiracy

And even more, related to state narrative shattered: Gingrich: Kishida Joining Communist Campaign

Yet more, related to state narrative shattered: The 3 Enemies of Religious Liberty

Still more, related to state narrative shattered: Lawyer Exposes Dirty Leftwing Plot

And yet more, related to state narrative shattered: Inhuman Government-Supported Mass Deprogramming

And still more, related to state narrative shattered: Bias: No Right to Respond for Religious Minority

And even more, related to state narrative shattered: Collusion to Rob Minority of Its Rights

Yet more, related to state narrative shattered: State and Media Creating “Today’s Non-Citizens”

Still more, related to state narrative shattered: Japan Criticized for Glaring Rights Violations

And yet more, related to state narrative shattered: Two European Scholars Warning Japan