2nd-generation members of religious minorities protesting severe persecution by Japanese authorities and media
Tokyo, 17th September 2024 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article
To believe is of one’s own free will
2nd-generation members of the Family Federation speaking out on the streets of Shibuya, Tokyo
by the editorial department of Sekai Nippo
Prepared by Knut Holdhus
On 16th September 2024, current second-generation members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church) did street preaching in front of Shibuya Station in Tokyo. The event was organized by the “Association of Believers Advocating for Freedom and Human Rights”, a group of volunteers from the Family Federation. The second-generation members who took to the streets shared their thoughts on being born and raised by parents who are members of the Family Federation.
Rie Mitsuhashi (24), a resident of Tokyo, emphasized, “I am practicing my faith out of my own free will, not because it was forced upon me.”
She shared her personal experience of how her faith improved her previously strained relationship with her father, and appealed, “I want people to see for themselves what kind of activities the Family Federation is actually involved in.”
A man in his 20s who lives in Saitama Prefecture argued, “Second-generation religious believers are not poor victims. There are second-generation believers who feel happy, like me.” He pointed out that the more the media portrays them as victims, the more the self-esteem of second-generation believers who have faith is hurt. He called on people to “not just accept the reports at face value, but to listen to what current believers have to say and make sensible decisions.”
A male believer who participated in the gathering with his child commented after listening to the street preaching, “Parent-child issues are difficult problems that no one can avoid. I am also undergoing training in love.”
Click here to read more on Religious Persecution
Featured image above: A woman appeals for the protection of religious freedom and human rights, afternoon 16th September 2024, Shibuya, Tokyo. Photo: Reika Kato (加藤玲和) / Sekai Nippo