New Evidence: Unjust Court Inference Challenged

Press release on reasons for appeal gives overview of alleged misjudgment, inflated figures, unjust court inference, and evidence fabrication in dissolution ruling

Submission of Statement of Reasons for Appeal in Dissolution Order Case to Tokyo High Court

Press release issued by the the Family Federation of Japan 22nd April concerning the appeal to the Tokyo High Court of the dissolution order case lost in Tokyo District Court. See original article in Japanese.

On 21^st April, we submitted a “Statement of Reasons for Appeal” (over 200 pages) and supporting evidence to the Tokyo High Court regarding the dissolution order case.

The main contents of the statement include:

1. A detailed rebuttal to the Tokyo District Court‘s ruling (dated 25^th March this year), which inferred that our organization’s unlawful activities have continued “uninterrupted until recently” since the issuance of the Compliance Declaration (in 2009) [See editor’s note below].
2. A detailed rebuttal to the court’s assessment that the Compliance Declaration was merely a stopgap measure (we have submitted additional evidence demonstrating the thorough implementation and effectiveness of the declaration).

The Tokyo District Court significantly inflated the estimated amount of damages by inferring unlawful conduct by our organization from post-2010 settlement cases, both in and out of court. Therefore, in rebuttal 1, we examined each post-Compliance Declaration [See editor’s note below] settlement case in detail, explaining the factual circumstances and the reasons for the settlement with evidence, in order to demonstrate the errors in the court’s inference.

For example, among the eight cases involving nine individuals that were settled in court after the Compliance Declaration [See editor’s note below](i.e., cases that went to trial but were settled between the two parties during the proceedings), which the initial court ruling cited as one of the grounds for the above inference, there were:

• (A) Cases where our organization won completely in the first trial and the plaintiff’s side – represented by lawyers from the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales – was found to have fabricated evidence,
• (B) Cases where contradictions in the plaintiff’s statements were exposed during trial, resulting in settlements for only about 2.29% of the original claim amount, and
• (C) Cases in which the complaints did not allege any unlawful conduct at all.

These examples illustrate how unreasonable and unjust it is to infer unlawful activity based solely on complaints and settlement records submitted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Similarly, for out-of-court settlements (those resolved privately without trial), we provided detailed explanations and evidence, demonstrating the unreasonable and unjust nature of the court’s inferences.

Regarding the implementation and effectiveness of the Compliance Declaration [See editor’s note below], we pointed out the ministry’s improper exclusion of many submitted materials – especially visually compelling documents demonstrating effectiveness – on the grounds that they were unfavorable to their case. We have now re-submitted these materials with detailed explanations.

In addition to the above, we have included numerous other claims such as violations of international law, as detailed in the attached file. We intend to continue presenting specific rebuttals to the initial court ruling from now on.

Featured image above: Demonstration against unjust and xenophobic verdict against the Family Federation in Japan. Here members in Karatsu City on the southern island of Kyushu protesting 30th March 2025. Photo: 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.]

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And still more, related to unjust court ruling: Malicious One-Sided Government Source Selection

More, related to unjust court ruling: Government’s Foul Play Pointed Out