Will the Japanese Unification Church be disbanded? "Dissolution order under discussion as requirements are met"

After Abe Prime Minister Assassination Incident, Controversy Over Large Donations
If Dissolution Order Is Confirmed, Tax Benefits Will Not Be Received

The Japanese government appears to be preparing to file a dissolution order against the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church and Family Federation).

According to Kyoto News and NHK on the 30th, the Japanese government, in response to the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has determined that the Family Federation, which has been at the center of controversy over large donations, meets the requirements for a dissolution order based on the Religious Corporations Act after exercising its right to question and collecting victim testimonies.

Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly Unification Church) held a press conference in Tokyo last August.

The competent authority, the Agency for Cultural Affairs, is discussing a plan to hold a Religious Corporation Review Board meeting on the 12th and then file a dissolution order petition with the Tokyo District Court.

The Family Federation has been criticized in Japan for practices such as the "inspiration sales method," where ordinary items are sold at high prices with claims that purchasing them can remove evil spirits, as well as for large donations.

NHK reported that an official said, "Based on the investigation results, it is judged that objective evidence supporting the organizational nature, maliciousness, and continuity?requirements for filing a dissolution order?is in place."

Since November last year, the Agency for Cultural Affairs has exercised its right to question seven times, collecting materials on the Family Federation’s organizational operations and assets. During this process, it also investigated the actual conditions of large donations from numerous victims.

If a dissolution order is filed, the court will hear opinions from both the Japanese government and the religious group before making a final decision. If the dissolution order is confirmed, religious acts will not be prohibited, but the group will lose its status as a religious corporation and will no longer be eligible for tax benefits.

In the past, two religious groups were subject to confirmed dissolution orders due to violations of laws: Aum Shinrikyo, which carried out the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, and one other group. However, these two cases involved criminal acts by church executives, and there has been no case like the Family Federation’s involving illegal acts under civil law.

The Family Federation maintains the position that "the group’s activities do not constitute grounds for filing a dissolution order."