Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has ordered an investigation into the Unification Church after the assassination for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe led to the revelation of close ties between the group and members of Japan’s ruling party.
Kishida said Monday that Education and Culture Minister Keiko Nagaoka would conduct the probe under the Religious Corporations Act.
The prime minister told parliament he wants “resolve issues related to the church.”
Abe was shot to death during a rally in July, and the suspected killer said his mother’s large donations to the church had bankrupted the family.
Kishida said Monday a government hotline had received more than 1,700 complaints related to the church, including financial and mental health problems.
He said the government would do more to support victims.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.