A Japanese high court has upheld a dissolution order against the Unification Church, a major step in the sect’s legal battle following the assassination of Shinzo Abe.
TOKYO: The Tokyo High Court has dismissed an appeal by the Unification Church against a court order for its dissolution in Japan.
The ruling upholds a March 2025 decision by the Tokyo District Court, which found the sect had caused “unprecedented damage” to society.
The court confirmed the decision to AFP, with the Church stating it considered the ruling “unjust” in a Wednesday statement.
The Japanese chapter of the South Korea-founded group, often nicknamed the “Moonies”, has been accused of pressuring followers into making life-ruining donations and blamed for child neglect among members, allegations it denies.
The case gained intense scrutiny following the 2022 assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving leader who had spoken at some Church events.
His killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, resented the sect after his mother’s donations to the group pushed his family into bankruptcy, with Yamagami receiving a life sentence for the murder in January before appealing last month.
Investigations after the murder revealed close ties between the sect and many conservative ruling-party lawmakers, leading to the resignation of four ministers.
This prompted the government in 2023 to seek court permission to have the group legally disbanded, with the Church lodging its appeal last April.
Wednesday’s decision means liquidation proceedings will begin and the sect will lose its tax-exempt status, although it can still appeal to Japan’s Supreme Court.
Lawyer Katsuomi Abe, who represents former believers seeking compensation, told AFP the court decision was “a step forward” for victims.
He added that while the Church can still continue religious practices, “it will become increasingly difficult for them to continue its activities… and politicians are likely to stay away”.
The amount donated by Japanese members over the decades has been estimated by some at hundreds of millions of dollars or more.
The Church, which rose to global prominence in the 1970s and 80s, told members they must atone for Japan’s wartime occupation of Korea and sell expensive items to obtain forgiveness from sins.
It has since Abe’s murder pledged to prevent “excessive” member donations.
The group becomes the third religious organisation ordered to disband in Japan, following the Aum Shinrikyo cult which carried out a deadly 1995 subway attack.
The Sun Malaysia
