Headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification of Japan, formerly known as the Unification Church of Japan, in Tokyo, Japan. The Tokyo High Court on March 4 upheld a lower court ruling ordering the dissolution of the religious group, and liquidation procedures began immediately. Photo by FRANCK ROBICHON / EPA
The Tokyo High Court, in its March 4 ruling, upheld a lower court decision dissolving the Unification Church of Japan, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. The decision is likely to have wider repercussions, particularly for the Unification Church of Korea.
The government charged that the group engaged in illicit fundraising practices, using extreme pressure to solicit repeated large donations. These had ruined families financially, the government said.
A church spokesman claimed that such practices had been discontinued since 2009.
The case was brought by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) which is responsible for religious associations. The court agreed with the Ministry’s claim that the church’s activities caused “substantial harm to public welfare,” and so were in breach of Japan’s Civil Code.
The church can appeal to Japan’s Supreme Court but the High Court ruling takes effect immediately. Church properties have been locked and a liquidator appointed to manage its assets.
“I hope the liquidation process will be carried out properly under the supervision of the court, ensuring swift redress for the victims,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference.
The Unification Church in Korea is also under government investigation. Its situation is likely to worsen following Japan’s dissolution order.
Unification Church leader, Hak Ja Han, is currently on trial in Seoul together with her chief aide Jung Wonju. They are charged with illegal political donations under South Korea’s Political Funds Act, as well as embezzlement and destruction of evidence.
They are alleged to have channeled church funds to influence ruling party legislators and purchased jewelry and a designer handbag intended for former First Lady, Kim Keon-hee. Another close aide of Han’s, Yoon Yong-ho, was sentenced in January to 14 months in prison Under the Political Funds Act and the Improper Solicitations and Graft Act.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ordered the Ministry of Government Legislation to review the legal grounds for dissolving religious foundations that violate the constitutional principle of church-state separation last December. That scrutiny will likely intensify in the wake of Japan’s decision.
Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, eldest living son of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Movement, said such scrutiny is called for.
In a recent interview held in Korea, he broke his 15-year silence on the matter, stating that the Unification Church is a “criminal entity” and that the Korean government should dissolve the organization and remove its religious status.
“No religious, sincere people of faith would have done all the things that the Unification Church did in the name of religion.” Dr. Moon expressed support for the dissolution proceedings already underway in Japan and potentially forthcoming in Korea.
He explained that his father never intended to create another traditional religion or denomination but envisioned a movement of high ideals based on universal principles and shared values. As he worked closely with his father as the sole legitimate heir to his spiritual authority, he said, leaders and elders within the movement resisted reforms and instead, established the Unification Church as an institutional religious structure. The internal division arose as a result, according to Moon.
“They hijacked key movement entities, and I chose to continue the path that our movement was always on.”
While supporting the dissolution of the Unification Church’s religious status, Moon expressed his intent to reclaim the entire organizational foundation built by his father, himself, and by sincere members worldwide and reform the entities to serve their original purposes.
Asked about his mother, Hak Ja Han, he said that he considers her a victim of corrupt, incompetent leaders. He asked that his over 80-year-old mother be freed. “She did not know what she was being misled to do. Those who consciously broke Korean law were the leaders of the Unification Church, and they should be in prison.”
[Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon is former chairman of UCI, the ultimate holding company that owns UPI.]
