Supreme Court Reverses Ruling on Unification Church Solicitation

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.