Unification Church Ordered to Dissolve by Tokyo District Court; Religious Group Can File Appeal to High Court (Update 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:23 JST, March 25, 2025 (updated at 19:00 JST)

The Tokyo District Court ordered the dissolution of the Unification Church, formerly called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, under the Religious Corporations Law on Tuesday.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry submitted a request for dissolution in October 2023 on the grounds that the Unification Church had repeatedly committed illegal acts under the Civil Code by illegally soliciting people to make large donations.

The Unification Church refuted the claim of solicitation. It stated that it had never systematically committed illegal acts and that complaints of damage over donations had decreased drastically since the organization had declared its commitment to strictly adhere to laws and regulations in 2009.

In its decision, the court said that the church engaged in solicitation of donations, which constitutes illegal acts under the Civil Code, over a period of about 40 years on a nationwide scale, causing damage on an unprecedented scale.

The court ruled that the group’s actions fell under the requirement for a dissolution order, namely “an act which is clearly found to harm public welfare substantially.”

“It is truly regrettable, but we take the ruling seriously. We will discuss making an immediate appeal to the Tokyo High Court,” the Unification Church said in a statement.

If the church does file an appeal to the high court, and that court were to uphold the dissolution order, it would become final and binding. The liquidation process by a court-appointed liquidator would then begin.

Even if the organization were then to file a special appeal against the ruling to the Supreme Court, the liquidation process would continue. However, if the dissolution order was overturned, the process would be halted.

“I take [the decision] to mean that our claim has been accepted,” said Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Toshiko Abe in a statement. “I will keep on taking all possible steps to deal with the Unification Church.”

It was the third time such a dissolution order had been issued, but the first on the grounds of a civil code violation. The previous two orders, including one for the Aum Supreme Truth cult, were based on the criminal acts committed by senior figures of the religious organizations.

Hearings on the case were held behind closed doors from February last year, and witness examination was conducted with both current and former followers of the organization. The education ministry and the Unification Church submitted their final written arguments to the court in January and the hearings were concluded.

Religious corporations that receive a dissolution order lose their legal status, which allowed it to own assets, such as a place of worship, in its own name and receive preferential tax treatment.

The organization, however, can continue as a voluntary organization without legal status, and the religious activities of the followers will not be restricted.