Senior US politician points to large leftist scheme behind vicious campaign not solely targeting Family Federation, but governing conservative party LDP
A special pre-recorded video message presented 5th February at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit 2025 in Washington DC, by senior American politician Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
First of all, I want to extend my greetings to Ambassador Sam Brownback and Dr. Katarina Lantos Swett, who are the co-chairs of the International Religious Freedom Summit.
This is a very important time to have this summit. The fact is that the assassination of former Prime Minister Abe by somebody who was clearly mentally ill, and who was not a member of the church, led to a deliberate effort – I think largely driven by the Communist Party – in an effort to destroy the political party which had been such a strong bulwark of American and freedom relations. The Liberal Democratic Party had done so much to help Japan, but now, beaten down, attacked, battered.
I wrote back in November 2022 in the Washington Times, that it’s clear that the attack on the Family Federation is actually an attack on the Liberal Democratic Party. That’s exactly what happened. And it was an effort, frankly, by the communists to create an environment where there could be a closer relationship with China and a more distant relationship with the United States.
The government now is in a mess, and the election results were very damaging.
What’s happened is that the government has been trying to destroy the Unification Church. It’s gone so far beyond the Japanese constitution. It’s found no crimes, and it has no basis for what it’s doing.
And in fact, the U.S. State Department, in its 2023 report in the Biden administration, noted that Japan had deviated from the norm when it decided to dissolve the Family Federation without any proof of any activity that was criminal that had been committed by the church. They just stepped in for political reasons.
Now you don’t have to believe America. In 2024, the United Nations Rapporteur on Religious freedom issued a mandate that the Japanese actions are in violation of the human rights declaration that Japan has signed on to.
Your host today, IRF co-chair Dr. Katarina Lantos Swett and Suzan Johnson Cook, former State Department Ambassador for religious freedom, in 2023, wrote, “In a move that is much more reminiscent of current practices in China and Russia, Japan’s government is now threatening to dissolve a legally constituted religious group for seemingly political purposes.” (RealClear Politics 26th September 2023)
Let me be clear: The Biden administration has already condemned this activity. The United Nations has already condemned this activity.
And now with President Trump, we have somebody who is deeply, passionately committed to religious liberty. This is going to have grave consequence for the United States’ relationship with Japan and our view of what’s happening with Japanese politics.
It’s very important that Japan remain pro-freedom. It’s very important that Japan follow its own constitution. It’s very important that Japan remains with America and not allows itself to be gradually overwhelmed by Communist China.
This is an important meeting, and I’m honored to have been given a chance to chat with you.
Featured image above: Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, delivering a special pre-recorded video message 5th February 2025 at the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Summit 2025 in Washington DC. Photo: Screenshot from live transmission