UCA NEWS


 

A trial court imposed fine of 100,000 Japanese yen for church’s failure to answer queries put forth by education ministry

Japan’s controversial Unification Church has filed an appeal in the country’s apex court to cancel a decision imposing a fine for its failure to respond to queries during a government inquiry, says a report.

The church has approached Japan’s Supreme Court seeking to quash a Tokyo High Court decision upholding the Tokyo District Court’s verdict imposing a 100,000 Japanese yen (around US$683) fine on it in March this year, Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) reported on Sept. 2.

District Court Judge Kenya Suzuki had found the Unification Church guilty of failing to answer more than 100 of some 500 questions on the church’s activities put forth by Japan’s education ministry.

The church, at the time, had claimed that “the decision violates the Constitution and violates past Supreme Court precedents, and it must be said that it is extremely unjust,” NHK reported.

Suzuki noted that the church had conducted a “suspected” violation of laws and regulations and “harmed the public welfare," adding that the total amount of damage exceeded 1.5 billion Yen.

The Tokyo High Court upheld the verdict on Aug. 27.
Yasuo Kawai, a member of the Unification Church Damage Control Defense Team welcomed the court’s decision to uphold the fine, NHK reported.

“The decision acknowledges that there has been long-term damage nationwide, and it strongly supports the relief of the damages, and it is an important decision that victims have wanted for many years,” Kawai said.

The defense team provides support to former members of the former Unification Church. It has been conducting collective negotiations to demand the return of donations since February last year.

Mediation requests have been filed by 171 people, and the total amount of claims was estimated at 5.2 billion Japanese Yen according to the defense team, NHK reported.

The Unification Church which was formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification came under heavy government scrutiny and public criticism following the assassination of Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by Tetsuya Yamagami.

Yamagami shot and killed Abe on July 8, 2022, over his ties to the Unification Church and alleged economic hardships faced by his family due to hefty donations given by his mother to the church which is estimated to be around US$1 million.

The church has been accused of collecting massive sums of donations in the form of “spiritual sales.”

A spiritual sale is defined as the selling of goods or services at exorbitant prices promising supernatural benefits such as preventing bad luck or soothing the souls of deceased loved ones by religious organizations.

Japan’s education ministry has filed a separate plea in the Tokyo High Court seeking the dissolution of the church.