Urgent Need to Resist State-Led Persecution

University of Vienna conference: Speaking out before silence wins – An urgent plea for freedom of religion in Japan

A Dangerous Precedent: Japan’s Assault on Religious Freedom and Its Global Fallout

First part of a speech by Peter Zoehrer, Journalist & Executive Director, FOREF Europe at the 8th annual conference of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe) at the University of Vienna. The speech was delivered on the 3rd day of the conference, on 10th July 2025, in a session on second-generation members of, and apostates from, new religious movements in Japan and elsewhere. The conference is a premier international forum for scholarly exchange on religion’s role amid socio-cultural transformation. The European Academy of Religion is known as the major forum for academic research on religion and its relevance for society.

See part 2: Japan Exporting Repression: Global Ripple Effect

1. Introduction

Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleagues, and friends,

It is an honor to speak at the 8th Annual EuARe Conference here at the University of Vienna. I address you today not only as a journalist but also as Executive Director of FOREF Europe, a Vienna-based human rights NGO dedicated to defending Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) as a fundamental civil right.

While other presentations in this session offer academic analyses, I speak from the vantage point of an activist and passionate advocate for religious liberty. My hope is that this non-academic perspective will add a dynamic and perhaps urgent dimension to our discussion.

What I share today is not merely a legal case – it is a global warning. Since the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022, the Unification Church — also known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) — has been subjected to an unprecedented, state-driven campaign of repression in Japan.

What is unfolding threatens to become a blueprint for suppressing religious freedom – not just in Asia, but across democratic societies worldwide.

2. The Abe Assassination and the “Court of Public Opinion”

The assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, blamed the Unification Church for his mother’s financial ruin due to past donations. Yet instead of treating this as a criminal act by a disturbed individual, the Japanese media orchestrated a nationwide moral panic – a textbook case of blaming the victim and exonerating the perpetrator.

In this narrative inversion, the Church [See editor’s note] – itself the indirect target of political violence – was turned into the scapegoat.

Within two weeks of Abe’s death, more than 700 articles and broadcasts vilified the Church [See editor’s note] as a societal menace. ¹ The media narrative was dominated by anti-cult lawyers – many affiliated with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations – who were given exclusive access to major platforms.

What emerged was a “media firewall”: a closed information loop in which alternative perspectives – including those of scholars, Church [See editor’s note] members, or international legal experts — were systematically excluded.

Public opinion was manipulated. Emotional testimonies were treated as fact. In this emotionally charged environment, political action soon followed.

3. The Dissolution Order: Criminalizing Belief Without Crime

In October 2023, the Japanese government filed a request to dissolve the Unification Church’s [See editor’s note] legal status as a religious corporation. ²

This action was not based on any criminal conviction. No court has found the Church [See editor’s note] guilty of illegal conduct. Instead, the dissolution relied on civil complaints, politicized hearings, and unverified allegations – not on judicial rulings.

This move flagrantly violates Japan’s commitments under international law – particularly Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects the right not only to believe, but to organize, teach, and practice religion.

Significantly, UN Special Rapporteur Nazila Ghanea publicly raised concerns about the case and offered to visit Japan to investigate potential FoRB violations. ³ To date, the Japanese government has failed to respond to her repeated requests.

What does Tokyo have to hide? If the process is fair and transparent, why ignore the UN’s top human rights envoy?

4. Silencing the World: Ignoring Global Appeals

This is not just a domestic matter. Leading international scholars, FoRB experts, and respected political leaders have appealed to Japan to halt this dangerous course.

These include former UN officials, Members of the European Parliament, renowned constitutional scholars, former heads of state, and over 400 senior advisors from global civil society networks.

But their appeals – formal letters, legal analyses, public statements – have been met with deaf ears in Tokyo.

What we are witnessing is not simply denial – it is the defense of a national narrative that scapegoats a minority religion to deflect from institutional responsibility.

A democracy that silences international counsel and censors domestic dissent is not acting in the spirit of human rights.

Continued in part 2: Japan Exporting Repression: Global Ripple Effect

Featured image above: Peter Zoehrer, journalist and executive director of FOREF Europe, delivering his speech on 10th July 2025 in a session on second-generation members of, and apostates from, new religious movements in Japan and elsewhere, during the 8th annual conference of the European Academy of Religion (EuARe) at the University of Vienna. Photo: Bitter Winter

Footnote 1: “Shinzo Abe’s death leads to scrutiny of Unification Church,” BBC, July 2022; CESNUR and Bitter Winter compilations.

Footnote 2: “Japan files court request to dissolve Unification Church,” Kyodo News, October 2023.

Footnote 3: UN Special Rapporteur communication to Japan, OHCHR, February 2024. Visit offer and rejection confirmed by UN press office.

[Editor’s note: Although Peter Zoehrer uses the word “church”, please be aware that the Unification Church in Japan in 2015 changed its name to Family Federation for World peace and Unification.]

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