Vandal Attacks on Cars and Homes of Members

Members of religious minority suffer vandal attacks on their cars and homes and harassment at work

Tokyo, 9th August 2024 – Published as the 18th article in a series in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article

Series: Freedom of Religion Under Threat – Part 3: Believers Suffering Discrimination and Human Rights Violations

Members get graffiti sprayed on their cars and windows broken in their homes

by the Religious Freedom Investigative Team of the editorial department of Sekai Nippo

See part 1: The Kishida Administration’s Reckless Actions: 1st article, 2nd article, 3rd article, 4th article, 5th article, 6th article

See part 2: Ripples to Local Assemblies: 7th article, 8th article, 9th article, 10th article, 11th article, 12th article, 13th article, 14th article, 15th article

See part 3: Believers Suffering Discrimination and Human Rights Violations: 16th article, 17th article, 18th article, 19th article, 20th article, 21st article, 22nd article

See part 4: Media Crossing the Line: 23rd article, 24th article, 25th article, 26th article, 27th article, 28th article

See part 5: The Distorted Image of the “Second-Generation”: 29th article, 30th article, 31st article, 32nd article, 33rd article, 34th article, 35th article, 36th article, 37th article, 38th article

See part 6: Voices of Religious Leaders: 39th article, 40th article, 41st article, 42nd article, 43rd article, 44th article, 45th article, 46th article

See part 7: Religion in Japan in a Global Context: 47th article, 48th article, 49th article, 50th article, 51st article, 52nd article, 53rd article, 54th article, 55th article

See Epilogue: 56th article, 57th article, 58th article

In 1992, international mass weddings and “spiritual sales” were widely covered on television talk shows, and critical reports about the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church) were repeatedly broadcast. As a result, believers faced discrimination, prejudice, and sometimes even hostility due to their faith, causing them distress and suffering.

Before the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a woman in her 30s named Eri Shimada (a pseudonym), who currently works in customer service in the Tokyo metropolitan area, experienced harassment from a male manager at her previous job. Shimada had already been uncomfortable with the manager’s excessive physical contact and had written about her frustration in her diary.

One day, she accidentally left her diary at work, and the manager read it. Upon discovering that she was a member of the Family Federation, the manager began harassing her further, using her faith as a pretext. Through social media, he started making new criticisms, such as “You don’t seem motivated,” and “Your work attitude is bad.” He had never mentioned such things before. Shimada recalled,

“I heard directly from a female customer I know that the manager had told her, ‘Since she’s a Unification Church member, you should avoid contacting her.’ Apparently, he said the same thing to several other mutual acquaintances.”

Eventually, Shimada quit the job. Reflecting on the harassment she had faced due to her Family Federation faith, she expressed concern, saying,

“Honestly, I think there are quite a few cases like mine that haven’t come to light. Believers tend to see endurance as a virtue.”

Amid the media frenzy criticizing the Family Federation following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, several individuals have faced harassment due to their faith. For instance, in October last year, a 60-year-old female believer named Chihiro Kamimura (a pseudonym) from the Chubu region found derogatory words scribbled on the hood of her car parked at her home.

Because the graffiti was written with a permanent marker, it “couldn’t be easily removed.” The incident was reported to the police, and patrols were conducted around her home, but the perpetrator has not been found. The woman said,

“Faith is undoubtedly a source of comfort for me. Being vandalized like this has deeply hurt me.”

There have also been cases of windows of the homes of members being broken. Around 12:30 AM on August 12, 2022, Kyoko Sasaki (a pseudonym), who lives in Fukushima Prefecture, heard a loud noise as if something had struck the window next to her front door. Although she was frightened, she went to bed that night. The next morning, she found a hole about 1 cm in diameter in the double-glazed window, which should not have been easy to break.

It is suspected that a slingshot-like device was used, and a police report was filed later, but the perpetrator remains unknown.

Many neighbors knew that the Sasakis were members of the Family Federation, but they had never openly spoken ill of them before.

After that, incidents that seemed like harassment continued, such as the switch-operated light in their parking area being mysteriously turned on, and empty oil cans for agricultural machinery being discarded on their property. Sasaki expressed her fears, saying,

“I can’t sleep at night due to the fear that a similar incident might happen again.”

She is still tormented by the anxiety that, in the worst case, an intruder might break into her home.

See part 1: The Kishida Administration’s Reckless Actions: 1st article, 2nd article, 3rd article, 4th article, 5th article, 6th article

See part 2: Ripples to Local Assemblies: 7th article, 8th article, 9th article, 10th article, 11th article, 12th article, 13th article, 14th article, 15th article

See part 3: Believers Suffering Discrimination and Human Rights Violations: 16th article, 17th article, 18th article, 19th article, 20th article, 21st article, 22nd article

See part 4: Media Crossing the Line: 23rd article, 24th article, 25th article, 26th article, 27th article, 28th article

See part 5: The Distorted Image of the “Second-Generation”: 29th article, 30th article, 31st article, 32nd article, 33rd article, 34th article, 35th article, 36th article, 37th article, 38th article

See part 6: Voices of Religious Leaders: 39th article, 40th article, 41st article, 42nd article, 43rd article, 44th article, 45th article, 46th article

See part 7: Religion in Japan in a Global Context: 47th article, 48th article, 49th article, 50th article, 51st article, 52nd article, 53rd article, 54th article, 55th article

See Epilogue: 56th article, 57th article, 58th article

Featured image above: A hole in the window glass of a believer’s home in Fukushima Prefecture. Photo: Family Federation 

Related to vandal attacks: Collusion to Rob Minority of Its Rights

And more, related to vandal attacks: State and Media Creating “Today’s Non-Citizens”

Yet more, related to vandal attacks: Malicious One-Sided Government Source Selection

Still more, related to vandal attacks: Japan Criticized for Glaring Rights Violations

Also related to vandal attacks: Inhuman Government-Supported Mass Deprogramming

Also related to vandal attacks: Scholar Condemns Violation of Minority Rights

Even more, related to vandal attacks: Japan Following the Way of China

And still more, related to vandal attacks: 12 Religious Freedom NGOs Denouncing Japan

And even more, related to vandal attacks: Conference on Religious Freedom Violations

Still more, related to vandal attacks: Japan: Threat to Religious Freedom

Even more, related to vandal attacks: Call to End Witch Hunt

More, related to vandal attacks: Government’s Foul Play Pointed Out

Yet more, related to vandal attacks: Japan Urged to Make U-Turn

More, related to vandal attacks: Japan: 4300 Abductions and Forcible Detentions

And more, related to vandal attacks: Illegalities of Activist Lawyers Exposed

Yet more, related to vandal attacks: Lawyers Manipulating, Coercing, Lying

And still more, related to vandal attacks: Witch Hunt Compromises Safety for Believers

And still more, related to vandal attacks: Believers Facing Discrimination, Insults, Threats

And even more, related to vandal attacks: Protesting Appalling Attack on Minority Rights