Mud-Slinging Journalist Chastised at Conference

Mud-slinging maverick journalist campaigning against religious minority was rebuked at Tokyo conference

Tokyo, 1st October 2024 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article

Conference on Lawsuits Against Eito Suzuki Held by Organization Related to the Former Unification Church 

by the editorial department of Sekai Nippo

Challenging the “Deterioration of the Media” – UPF Japan

The Universal Peace Federation (UPF) Japan, an organization related to [Editor’s note: with same founders as] the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), held a rally in Tokyo on 30th September 2024, regarding three lawsuits against journalist Eito Suzuki (鈴木エイト). The event was attended by Shunsuke Uotani (魚谷俊輔), Secretary General of UPF Japan, that is suing Suzuki for defamation, Toru Goto (後藤徹), representative of the Association of Victims of Abduction, Confinement, and Coerced Faith-Breaking, and Mr. X, a male believer who sued Suzuki for invasion of privacy in September.

According to Tatsuki Nakayama (中山達樹), the lawyer representing the plaintiff in the privacy invasion lawsuit, Suzuki leaked Mr. X’s personal information to a Weekly Bunshun reporter in 2022 to highlight the relationship between Liberal Democratic Party members and the Family Federation. Mr. X’s faith was exposed in a September 2022 issue of Weekly Bunshun. Subsequently, Suzuki revealed Mr. X’s real name and photo on X (formerly Twitter) and during lectures.

Mr. A, who had been actively involved in volunteer activities such as operating local children’s cafeterias, can no longer participate in these activities. He tearfully asked,

“Is it wrong for a Unification Church member to engage in volunteer work?”

His other lawyer, Shinichi Tokunaga (徳永信一), criticized Suzuki, saying,

“Leaking private information unnecessarily disqualifies him as a journalist.”

Eito Suzuki had made a claim that the lawsuit against him is a “SLAPP lawsuit” (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) [Editor’s note: SLAPP lawsuits represent a misuse of the legal system and refer to cases brought by individuals or entities to dissuade their critics from continuing to produce negative publicity.] Secretary-General Uotani referred to this claim and emphasized, “This is not a lawsuit to harass.” He pointed out that the media’s coverage of the Family Federation has not included the voices of its followers and criticized the situation in which the media incites the government as “deterioration of the media”. He further stated,

“I want to challenge the current situation where it seems acceptable to defame or publicly shame someone just because they are a member of the Family Federation.”

Regarding the defamation lawsuit, Suzuki claimed that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (安倍晋三) received 50 million yen from UPF as a reward for sending a video message to an international conference hosted by UPF. UPF denied this and filed a lawsuit last year, claiming their reputation was damaged.

Additionally, on his blog Suzuki criticized Toru Goto, who was a victim of abduction and confinement aimed at coerced faith-breaking. Suzuki called Goto a “recluse” (引きこもり – hikikomori) and accused him of “playing victim”. Goto is suing Suzuki for the mental distress caused.

Featured image above: The panel at the conference on 30^th September 2024 in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. From left: Toru Goto, representative of the Association of Victims of Abduction, Confinement, and Coerced Faith-Breaking; Shunsuke Uotani, Secretary General of UPF Japan; Attorney Shinichi Tokunaga; Attorney Tatsuki Nakayama.  Photo: Takahide Ishii (石井孝秀).

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