Japanese Government Seeks to Remove Official Recognition from Unification Church

The Unification Church, officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, is a global religious movement founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon. Moon, born into a farming family in what is now North Korea, claimed to have a vision at age 15 in which Jesus asked him to complete his work on Earth. The church’s teachings are based on new interpretations of the Bible, and Moon saw his role as restoring humanity to a state of “sinless” purity.

Rapid early recruitment saw the church’s membership grow from an initial group of 100 missionaries to around 10,000 in just a few years. By the time of Moon’s death in 2012, the church claimed to have about three million followers. However, some experts note that membership has declined sharply since the 1980s, with current estimates placing the number at several hundred thousand.

The Japan chapter of the church was established in 1959 after missionaries arrived there and in the United States in the late 1950s. The organisation has been known for its mass weddings, often held in large sports stadiums with thousands of couples who are typically strangers to each other. Moon moved to the United States in the early 1970s and was indicted on tax evasion charges in 1981. He was convicted and served 11 months in prison.

Moon was revered by his followers but denounced by critics as a cult-building charlatan. He studied engineering at a high school in Tokyo and later built a business empire encompassing construction, food, education, the media, and even a professional football club at one point. He had 14 children with his wife, Hak Ja Han, who now leads the church. Their youngest son, Hyung Jin Moon, became the church’s most senior leader in 2008 but later formed his own sect, the Sanctuary Church, following a falling-out with his mother.

Groups affiliated with the Unification Church have secured speaking engagements from prominent figures, including former US president Donald Trump. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, had spoken at events organised by some of these groups and faced criticism for doing so. In 2021, a group of Japanese lawyers filed a letter of protest after Abe delivered a video message for such an event. The Japanese government has since asked a court to strip the Unification Church of its official recognition.

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