To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
The Yomiuri Shimbun Education minister Masahito Moriyama raises his hand at a lower house Budget Committee meeting on Wednesday.
Jiji Press
17:23 JST, February 7, 2024
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Education minister Masahito Moriyama on Wednesday said that he “may have signed” a de-facto policy accord with an organization linked to the controversial Unification Church.
“While I may have signed [the agreement], I don’t really remember,” said Moriyama at a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives.
Moriyama’s statement was made in response to a media report that he had signed off on a recommendation confirmation letter, the de-facto policy accord, prepared by an organization linked to the controversial group formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Signing the accord was reportedly a condition for receiving a letter of recommendation from the organization in connection with the 2021 lower house election.
“I’m starting to vaguely recall [the occasion in which I met with people from the Unification Church side],” Moriyama said.
Saying that the topic of the policy accord “may have suddenly popped up” and he “may have been asked” to sign the agreement at a gathering where he was invited to attend by a local elector, Moriyama added, “I may have signed [the agreement] without looking over it properly.”
