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.
Yomiuri Shimbun file photo The Tokyo District Court in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo
Jiji Press
11:14 JST, July 12, 2024
TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Supreme Court overturned Thursday a lower court ruling that was in favor of the Unification Church in a ¥65 million damages lawsuit over donations solicited by the controversial religious group.
The top court’s First Petty Bench, presided over by Justice Toru Sakai, sent the case back to Tokyo High Court. It was the Supreme Court’s first ruling on donation solicitations by the group, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.
In the lawsuit, filed by the daughter of a deceased female believer, the top court found that a memorandum created by the plaintiff’s mother stating no lawsuit would be filed to request the return of the donations “violated public order and morality, and was invalid.”
The decision is likely to affect other Unification Church donation cases involving similar documents, people familiar with the matter said.
