TOKYO, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) — The Japanese authorities plans to ask the Tokyo District Court to order the dissolution of Unification Church, a controversial spiritual group, in accordance with native media stories.
The transfer adopted a months-long probe by the Cultural Affairs Agency into the group over allegations of soliciting financially ruinous donations from members and different questionable practices, the nationwide news company Kyodo reported on Saturday, citing a authorities supply.
Last 12 months, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ordered the investigation into the Unification Church amid opposition strain and slumping help for his cupboard.
Meanwhile, concern has been rife amongst opposition events and the general public that the controversial group could have been making an attempt to affect politics right here by means of hyperlinks with lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
The tradition ministry plans to formally resolve on the transfer after consulting with a associated council as early as Oct. 12 earlier than asking the Tokyo District Court to subject an order to dissolve the group underneath the spiritual company regulation.
If dissolved, the Unification Church would lose its standing as a non secular company in Japan and be disadvantaged of tax advantages, though it might nonetheless function as an entity, in accordance with Kyodo.
The Unification Church, formally often known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, has lengthy been criticized for encouraging its followers to make exorbitant donations within the type of “spiritual sales” in return for “karmic benefits.”
It additionally witnessed intensified scrutiny after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot throughout an election marketing campaign speech final 12 months over his perceived hyperlinks to the group.
The assailant, Tetsuya Yamagami, allegedly held a grudge towards the group for financially ruining his household by soliciting large quantities of cash in donations from his mom and claimed this factored into his purpose for assassinating Abe.