Ruling on Unification Church: Court Points to Maliciousness of Donation Solicitation Practice

Editorial

16:02 JST, July 12, 2024

If a religious group were to take advantage of elderly people whose capacity for judgment has deteriorated due to illness or aging, obtaining large monetary donations from them, that would be unforgivable. A recent judicial ruling can be expected to lead to future relief for the victims.

The Supreme Court ruled on an appeal by the bereaved family of a former female follower of the Unification Church, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, in a lawsuit seeking about ¥65 million in damages from the group, alleging that she was forced to donate money through its illegal solicitations.

The woman had donated more than ¥100 million to the Unification Church since 2005, when she was in her 70s, and she had signed and sealed a memorandum at a notary public’s office stating that she would not file any lawsuit seeking refunds or compensation for damages. The validity of the memorandum became a point of contention in the lawsuit.

Considering that the woman was under the influence of the Unification Church for many years and she was found to be suffering from dementia six months after the signing of the memorandum, among other factors, the Supreme Court noted that the Unification Church side “took advantage of the woman’s condition that made it difficult for her to make rational decisions, and the memorandum is invalid as it goes against public order and morals.”

The ruling also pointed out that the Unification Church side had videotaped the woman agreeing to the contents of the memorandum. The court may have judged that this indicates that the memorandum was not signed of her own volition but the religious group led her to do so.

According to a lawyers’ group that deals with cases seeking damages related to the Unification Church, there are more than 170 victims who suffered harm such as large donations to the religious group, with damage totaling nearly ¥5 billion. Some victims, such as the woman in this case, signed memorandums stating that they would not file a lawsuit.

The Supreme Court’s ruling is sure to encourage claims for damages by former followers and others who had given up and accepted the situation because the existence of the memorandums had been a barrier.

This time, the Supreme Court judged it “extraordinary” that the woman, while suffering a family member’s misfortune, had gone so far as to sell her land to make donations. In a severe rebuke, the court said that “the amount of the donations had an unignorable impact on the maintenance of her life.”

Based on that recognition, the top court ordered that the case be sent back to the high court to hold hearings again over the illegality of the religious group’s soliciting of donations.

In October last year, the government petitioned the Tokyo District Court for an order to dissolve the Unification Church, and the trial is ongoing. If the high court finds the solicitation of donations to be illegal, it will have an impact on the decision on the dissolution order.

The issue of the solicitation of donations by the Unification Church attracted renewed attention following the shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe two years ago. A new law took effect in January last year to prohibit illicit solicitation of donations to prevent such harm.

However, the government has yet to recognize any violation under the new law. It is essential to make the new law more effective.

The Japan Legal Support Center provides assistance to victims such as by temporarily covering their legal fees on their behalf. It is hoped that efforts will be made to improve the consultation system and further grasp the actual state of damages.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 12, 2024)