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TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Unification Church filed an appeal with Tokyo High Court on Monday over a district court ruling ordering the dissolution of the religious group.
The move came after Tokyo District Court issued the first ever disbandment order against a religious organization for committing illegal acts under the Civil Code.
“[The dissolution order] was decided as a foregone conclusion and ignored law and the facts,” the group, formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, said in a statement.
Susumu Murakoshi, leader of a group of lawyers for victims of the Unification Church, expressed disappointment over the appeal, saying, “It is important that [the appeal] be swiftly dismissed and the dissolution order become final for the relief of victims.”
Tokyo District Court said in its decision on March 25 that Unification Church members’ unjust donation-soliciting activities caused unprecedentedly large damage. It found that the acts constituted a law violation, a condition for ordering a dissolution under the religious corporations law, as the solicitation method was malicious and there were many people who were seriously affected for a long time.
The dissolution order will immediately take effect if the high court issues a similar decision on the matter, stripping the Unification Church of its status of a religious corporation. While the Unification Church can continue religious activities under this scenario, it will have to dispose of assets such as facilities of worship, and will become ineligible for tax breaks.
The Unification Church’s Japan head, Tomihiro Tanaka, told a press conference after the district court ruling that the dissolution order poses “a crisis of religious freedom.”
“We are not a malicious organization that must be disbanded,” Tanaka went on.
Public awareness over issues surrounding Unification Church followers’ massive donations grew following the July 2022 shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe’s alleged killer told investigators that he thought the former prime minister had ties with the Unification Church, against which the accused had a grudge due to his mother being a follower.
The culture ministry asked the district court in October 2023 to order the religious group to dissolve.
