Japanese Government Files Court Order to Dissolve Unification Church... "First Case of Illegal Act under Civil Law"

"1,550 Victims, 180 Billion Won in Compensation"
"Several Years Expected to Reach Conclusion"

The Japanese government filed a dissolution order with the court on the 13th against the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), which has caused social controversy due to large donations, NHK and other broadcasters reported.

According to the reports, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology announced that it filed a dissolution order against the former Unification Church at the Tokyo District Court on the same day. The application included about 5,000 pieces of evidence collected through the government's exercise of questioning rights against the former Unification Church since November last year.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
Photo by AFP Yonhap News

The Japanese government explained that the reason for filing the dissolution order was that the former Unification Church had, over a long period, caused many believers to make donations and purchase goods under circumstances that impaired their normal judgment, and the court had ruled these actions illegal.

Masahito Moriyama, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, stated at a press conference the day before, "As a result of the government investigation, the scale of related damages amounts to approximately 15,500 victims and a total of 20.4 billion yen (about 18 billion KRW) in compensation and other damages."

After investigating the materials and testimonies obtained through 11 months of exercising questioning rights, the Japanese government judged that objective evidence supporting the requirements for filing a dissolution order?namely, ▲organizational nature ▲maliciousness ▲persistence?was secured.

There have been two previous cases where dissolution orders were confirmed due to past illegal acts, including the Aum Shinrikyo cult responsible for the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack. In all cases, criminal incidents committed by executives of religious corporations were the basis, but in the case of the former Unification Church, no criminal cases involving executives have been confirmed, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. This is the first case based on tort under civil law.

The former Unification Church expressed "extreme regret" over the government's decision, claiming, "It is deeply regrettable that the Japanese government made a serious decision based on biased information from left-wing lawyer groups established to destroy the corporation, and this will remain a stain in Japan's constitutional history."

With the Japanese government filing the dissolution order with the court, the Tokyo District Court will listen to both parties' opinions and then decide whether to issue the dissolution order. Since appeals and final appeals are possible, it is expected that both sides will dispute this up to the Supreme Court, which is equivalent to South Korea's Supreme Court.

NHK reported that this is the first time tort under civil law has been the basis for a dissolution order request, and experts have indicated that the court must re-examine whether the Family Federation's actions had organizational nature, maliciousness, and persistence. Accordingly, it is expected that "it may take several years until the final judgment is made."

If the dissolution order is issued, the religious corporation will be dissolved and will no longer receive tax-exempt preferential treatment. However, foreign media in Japan reported that it can continue to exist as a voluntary organization and religious activities will still be possible.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.