Politics Overruled the Law in Dissolution Case

“The alarming dissolution case based on retroactive justice was driven by politics, not law,” claims Family Federation president in interview with large monthly magazine

Part 1 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 2: Justice Twisted: Assumptions Replaced Evidence

See part 3: Massive Rights Abuses Shatter State Narrative

See part 4: Dispelling Myths Behind Horrendous Persecution

Calling for an Apology from Former Prime Minister Kishida

Interviewer: Fumihiro Kato, author

On 25^th March 2025, the Tokyo District Court issued a ruling ordering the dissolution of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church) under the Religious Corporations Act. I asked Tomihiro Tanaka, President of the organization, for his thoughts on the court’s ruling, the current state of the organization, and his views on the public distrust surrounding it.

– What are your thoughts on the court’s ruling, President Tanaka?

Tanaka: I was truly shocked by the dissolution order. I must say that none of our claims were considered at all. Prior to the district court’s ruling, we were fined for not responding to government inquiries, and we lost the “administrative fine” (non-penal fine) case even at the Supreme Court. However, that case was about fines, whereas this one is about dissolving our legal entity, which I see as an entirely different matter.

When I read the decision document, I was appalled. Rather than pointing out what exactly was wrong with our organization to justify its dissolution, the decision was based on an assumption: that since the organization hasn’t changed, it will likely commit the same wrongdoings again. This was the basis for the ruling.

To impose a “death sentence” on our legal status based on such reasoning suggests a fervent desire to “destroy the organization”. This is nothing short of a “politically motivated trial.” I also believe that the verdict was influenced by the Supreme Court’s hostile stance shown during the “administrative fine” (non-penal fine) case.

There was no consideration of non-retroactivity either. In other words, and I will elaborate on this later, they are applying rules retroactively to past events and using those new rules to judge us. It feels as though people who had already finished their judicial proceedings and returned to normal life were suddenly told, “Your previous judgment was too lenient,” and given the death penalty all over again.

An organization pointed out as “socially problematic”

– The dissolution procedure was initiated by then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Tanaka: The problem with Kishida started on 31^st August 2022, when he announced the “severing of ties” with our organization. On that day, he held a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office, speaking as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), urging its members to avoid associations with “organizations that are pointed out as problematic by society.”

There’s a difference between “organizations pointed out as problematic by society” and “organizations that are actually problematic.” Despite calling for severing ties, Kishida never explained what exactly was problematic about us or why we could be labeled a socially problematic organization; he didn’t say a single word about it in his statement.

He essentially said,

“Because someone is saying it’s a problem, cut ties with them.”

Then, on 14^th October 2022, the Cabinet approved a written government response stating clearly that, since there had been no criminal penalties imposed on our executives, our organization did not meet the requirements for dissolution under the Religious Corporations Act. Therefore, no dissolution order had been requested. Based on the existing legal interpretation, it was obvious that dissolving us was not possible – and the government officially acknowledged that fact.

However, after that, legal interpretations began to veer off course and were distorted. On 17^th October Kishida suddenly announced his intent to exercise the “right to ask questions” – a measure only used when there is already a reason to consider dissolution. Since the Cabinet had just acknowledged on 14th October that there was no basis for dissolution, exercising the right to question made no sense. Kishida’s statement clearly contradicted the Cabinet’s decision.

Most likely, Kishida did not understand the law and made a hasty statement. It also seemed he didn’t fully grasp that the right to question is not for fishing around to uncover crimes. This became evident in his later remarks. The right to question is to be used only when there is already a confirmed illegal act that could justify dissolution – and only to further investigate those facts. You can’t assert there’s no reason for dissolution on one hand and then exercise the questioning right on the other.

Continued in part 2.

See part 2: Justice Twisted: Assumptions Replaced Evidence

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 following the dissolution verdict 25th March 2025. Photo: Screenshot by Bitter Winter

Related to politics overruled the law: Japan Following the Way of China

Also related to politics overruled the law: Japan’s Dissolution Case Echoes China’s Playbook

And also related to politics overruled the law: “Lawyers Lying and Shaming Japan” for 50 Years

More, related to politics overruled the law: Lawfare: State Uses Legal System in War on Faith

Also related to politics overruled the law: Media/Legal Expert: Communism Behind Persecution

And more, related to politics overruled the law: Militant Lawyers Dictate Government Policy

And more, related to politics overruled the law: Media Helping Terrorist Reach His Goal

Related to politics overruled the law: Kishida Administration Giving in to Terrorism

And more, related to politics overruled the law: 12 Religious Freedom NGOs Denouncing Japan

Yet more, related to politics overruled the law: Japanese Communists’ Final War

Still more, related to politics overruled the law: Political and Social Activism behind Oppression

And yet more, related to politics overruled the law: Opposition Inciting Regime to Excessive Steps

And still more, related to politics overruled the law: Journalist Reveals Ugly Leftwing Conspiracy

And even more, related to politics overruled the law: Gingrich: Kishida Joining Communist Campaign

Yet more, related to politics overruled the law: The 3 Enemies of Religious Liberty

Still more, related to politics overruled the law: Lawyer Exposes Dirty Leftwing Plot

And yet more, related to politics overruled the law: Inhuman Government-Supported Mass Deprogramming

And still more, related to politics overruled the law: Bias: No Right to Respond for Religious Minority

And even more, related to politics overruled the law: Collusion to Rob Minority of Its Rights

Yet more, related to politics overruled the law: State and Media Creating “Today’s Non-Citizens”

Still more, related to politics overruled the law: Japan Criticized for Glaring Rights Violations

And yet more, related to politics overruled the law: Two European Scholars Warning Japan