Mission difficult: Healing bonds in families torn apart when following instructions from paid professional faith-breakers
Tokyo, 30th April 2025 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article.
Believers Working to Reconcile Parents and Offspring
The Dark World of Deprogramming Spreading Amid the Move to Dissolve the Family Federation (5)
by the Religious Freedom Investigative Team of the editorial department of Sekai Nippo
Prepared by Knut Holdhus
Reclaiming Bonds Severed by Confinement
Uzume (pseudonym, a woman in her 50s), a believer of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), experienced abduction and confinement by relatives in her 20s. She now serves as co-representative of the private organization Ame no Yachimata no Kai [See editor’s note below], which works on parent-child reconciliation.
When she was confined in a condominium room, Uzume believed to the very end, “My parents would never kidnap and confine me.”
But upon seeing the appearance of Pastor Takeo Funada (船田武雄) – now deceased – she realized she had been deceived and became convinced she had become a victim. A few days after escaping, her parents contacted her, saying, “We want to talk again,” but fear of being kidnapped again kept her from meeting them.
Since then, attempts to visit her parents ended in rejection at the door. After her family moved, their whereabouts became unknown. About 20 years later, she was suddenly contacted and informed that her father had already passed away. Uzume reflected, “I wanted to reconcile with my father, but he passed before that could happen. I hope others won’t have to live with that same regret.”
Co-representative Sarutahiko (pseudonym, 53-year-old man) pointed out that “families often expect the pastors who instructed the faith-breaking to continue supporting the parent-child relationship afterward,” but in reality, they do nothing. He explained, “The cooperation of pastors and deprogrammers is bought with large sums of money, but once that financial exchange ends, so does their involvement.”
The group receives many consultations, such as “I can’t go home to see my parents” or “I can’t even talk to them on the phone.” Some parents have admitted tearfully, “I now believe the abduction and confinement was wrong, but during that time I was brainwashed with negative and questionable information about the church. I can’t see my daughter as my daughter anymore.”
Sarutahiko, who began working on resolving abduction and confinement issues around 2012, said that after reconciling with his own parents, he became more committed to helping others achieve reconciliation.
The turning point came when his father was hospitalized. He said, “By facing my mother, who was rethinking her life, she gradually began to open up about what happened during the confinement.”
His mother explained the situation at the time, “A pastor from the United Church of Christ in Japan scolded me, saying, ‘Your son joined a bad religion because you failed as a parent. You must lock him up quickly, or things will get worse.’ I didn’t know what to do and just lost the ability to think rationally.”
Many who have undergone faith-breaking through abduction and confinement suffer long-term mental health issues, including PTSD. Sarutahiko’s mother said, “If I had known my child might develop PTSD, I never would have gone through with it.”
On the lack of support for parent-child relationships after such incidents, his mother said, “I wish the child would reach out first. As a parent who did something like that, I could never bring myself to say it.” Now reconciled with her son, she actively asks him to “help other estranged families reconnect” or “visit families I’m concerned about,” and together they work to mend broken relationships.
About Ten no Yachimata no Kai
The name “Yachimata” refers to the mythological “crossroads” where the god Sarutahiko appears as a guide. As a believer of the Family Federation, Sarutahiko established the group to help reconcile parent-child relationships shattered by abduction and confinement. The group provides consultations and also visits the graves of parents or believers who took their own lives due to such trauma, offering memorial services.
Doubts About Dishonest Pastors
Sarutahiko said, “I’ve had chances to speak not just with the parents who did the abducting, but also with the Christian pastors who guided them. Seeing pastors lie to the point of severing family bonds, and encouraging parents to do so – something far from their real mission – made me question their roles.”
He continued, “Behind this is a dark, well-structured, and networked system of faith-breaking.” He emphasized, “Even now, many families remain broken, with victims and parents still estranged. It is the mission of Yachimata no Kai to heal these families.”
Featured image above: Members of “Ame no Yachimata no Kai” during an interview 16th April 2025 in Tokyo. Photo: Yasuhiro Uno (宇野泰弘)
[Editor’s note: The Japanese expression Yachimata (八衢) refers to a crossroads or intersection where multiple paths converge. It is often used in a metaphorical sense to symbolize choices, encounters, or the meeting of different fates.
In mythology and classical literature, 八衢 (Yachimata) can also evoke a mystical or sacred space where important decisions or transformations occur. It appears in the name of the deity Ame no Yachihoko (天の八衢), associated with crossroads and divine encounters in Japanese folklore.
As for the above-mentioned association Ame no Yachimata no Kai (天の八衢の会), the term symbolizes a place for reconciliation, dialogue, and resolution – a meeting point where estranged families can reconnect.]