Lawyers in Japan Say Unification Church Still Faces Donation Complaints

A group of lawyers in Japan said on July 12 that it is still receiving consultations about the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, commonly known as the Unification Church, over alleged extortion of donations from its followers. The National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales, which is working on compensation for damages, stressed that the church’s “explanation that there is no coercion of donations is a lie.”

The lawyers said that in recent years there has been a string of civil court rulings pointing out the illegality of donations to the religious group and ordering refunds to former followers.

Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, a suspect arrested over the July 8 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was sent to prosecutors on suspicion of murder. He told investigators that his motive was that his mother was a follower of the Unification Church and that his family had disintegrated due to bankruptcy caused by her large donations to the religious group.

Tomihiro Tanaka, president of the Japanese branch of the church, said Yamagami’s mother’s donations were based on her own will. He acknowledged that the group had “had donation trouble in the past, but we have been in thorough compliance since 2009. Now we do not force people to donate money.” The lawyers’ and the church’s accounts of donation practices stand in direct conflict, and the differing claims are being weighed in the courts and the public debate, a matter of truth and fairness (Proverbs 18:17).

Hiroshi Yamaguchi, a representative of the lawyers’ group, said at a news conference on July 12 that the church “is still being pointed out by the judiciary for its illegal activities.” He cited a February 2020 ruling by the Tokyo District Court in a lawsuit filed by a former follower who sought the return of donations she had made between 2012 and 2015. The court ordered the church to refund approximately 4.7 million yen (about $34,200), on the grounds that “the demand for donations was made through an unfair method of stirring up anxiety and fear.” The ruling was later finalized after the Supreme Court dismissed a final appeal.

The lawyers also released a statement urging politicians to refrain from any actions that express support for the religious group.

In September 2021, the lawyers’ group sent a protest letter to Abe, who had sent a video message to an online meeting of the church’s friendship group. The lawyers protested that the video message would be an “endorsement,” and wrote, “We urge you to think carefully about this for the sake of your own honor.”