Tokyo paper reveals how small clique around Kishida overnight changed interpretation of law crucial to religious freedom
Tokyo, 5th July 2024 – Published as the fifth article (the last) in a series in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article
Changing rules overnight undermines the foundation of the rule of law
by the Religious Freedom Investigative Team of the editorial department of Sekai Nippo
prepared by Knut Holdhus
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made an announcement on 17th October 2022 that he would use the right to question the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly known as the Unification Church). This was an act against the conventional interpretation of the law, and it was subjected to attacks from the opposition parties at the House of Representatives Budget Committee the following day (18th October).
Akira Nagatsuma (長妻昭), a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), persistently urged Prime Minister Kishida to reconsider his interpretation of the dissolution requirements for religious corporations. The requirements are in line with the 1995 Tokyo High Court decision (confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1996). Nagatsuma argued against Prime Minister Kishida’s assertion that “acts that are unlawful according to the Civil Code are not included” in the prohibitions and directives specified by criminal law and other established regulations, as indicated by Tokyo High Court. Nagatsuma said,
“As for the main body of the former Unification Church, no final judgment has established criminal responsibility. […] As the director of the Agency for Cultural Affairs has consistently stated, unless the government changes its interpretation, a dissolution request can never be made.”
On that day, the Prime Minister stuck to the position that had been decided in the Cabinet meeting on 14th October. However, at the beginning of the House of Councillors Budget Committee session on the 19th, in response to a question from Hiroyuki Konishi (小西洋之) of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), he stated, “Having taken into account the discussions from yesterday, the government, had the relevant ministries gather again and has revised the government’s stance.” Then he made the following declaration,
“If it becomes clear that acts are organized, malicious, and continuous, and if they are deemed to meet the requirements of the Religious Corporations Act, wrongful acts (torts) under the Civil Code can also be included.”
The interpretation of a law so important for religious freedom, about the dissolution requirements for religious corporations, was changed 180 degrees overnight. Although Representative Konishi remarked that “this is too much of a change in such a short time,” he did not pursue the matter any further.
There was an even more serious issue lurking behind this “overnight change of policy” commotion. On 22nd August 2023, Representative Konishi, to whom the Prime Minister first communicated the change in interpretation, revealed the behind-the-scenes details of this change on YouTube. Konishi said,
“The day before (18th Oct.), I had contacted the Prime Minister’s Office, advising them to retract the interpretation. I even gave them the reasons for doing so and suggested they should say that the entire Kishida administration had re-discussed the matter. I promised not to pursue that part further if they did so. Prime Minister Kishida said exactly that. However, this is a lie.”
This is how Konishi bragged to his associate Eito Suzuki (鈴木エイト) [a “journalist” campaigning fanatically against the Family Federation] that “the prime minister has changed his interpretation according to my instructions.” So it is not entirely reliable.
However, the Prime Minister’s schedule on the 19th Oct. records a meeting with Konishi just before the Budget Committee session of the House of Councillors. It was unusual for him to meet and exchange words with an opposition member who asked a question just before such a session. And indeed, Konishi did not pursue the point he himself had declared a lie – that “the entire government had discussed’ the matter.” There is a strong suspicion that the overnight change was pushed through due to collusion between the government and the opposition.
The government has remained tight-lipped about the participants in the meeting where the Cabinet decision was overturned. On 31st January of this year, Satoshi Hamada (浜田聡議), a member of the NHK Party, asked in a written inquiry about the assignment and positions of the participants in the meeting.
The government only admitted that the meeting was not a Cabinet meeting, but stated, “We would like to refrain from answering questions about the details of the government’s internal deliberation process.” The names of the participants were not disclosed. Furthermore, the decisions (interpretation changes) made at this meeting have not been subsequently ratified by the Cabinet. There is a strong suspicion that this significant interpretation change was decided by a very small number of close aides in an unofficial gathering.
At a symposium held in Tokyo on 18th June this year, Masaru Wakasa (若狭勝), a former senior prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office and a former member of the House of Representatives, who is now a lawyer, strongly warned,
“The biggest issue in requesting a dissolution order against the Family Federation is the lack of fairness. Changing the interpretation and application of the law hastily within a day, and then requesting a dissolution order, is going to undermine the foundation of a nation governed by laws.”
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Featured image above: Hiroyuki Konishi’s statement 22nd August 2023. Photo (March 2020): Noriko Ishigaki (石垣のりこ) / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC Attr 3.0 Unp. Cropped