A contentious and allegedly unlawful verdict by Tokyo District Court promptly appealed to higher court as an uphill battle against blatant state persecution continues
Tokyo, 7th April 2025 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article.
Family Federation Files Immediate Appeal Against Tokyo District Court’s Dissolution Order
by the editorial department of Sekai Nippo
prepared by Knut Holdhus
On 7th April, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church) filed an immediate appeal with the Tokyo High Court, opposing the Tokyo District Court’s decision to order its dissolution. This is the first dissolution order based on a “wrongful acts according to civil code”, and the religious organization had previously indicated its intention to challenge the ruling.
In a statement, the organization said: “The dissolution order is a predetermined conclusion that disregards both law and facts.”
Norishige Kondo (近藤徳茂), Deputy Director of the religious organization’s Legal Affairs Office, spoke to reporters in front of the Tokyo District Court, emphasizing that the court’s finding of unlawful acts was based on presumptions, rather than proven facts: “This is something that must not happen in a democratic society. We have no choice but to fight to the very end.”
He stated that the written reasons for the appeal would be submitted within two weeks, adding: “We will take our time to thoroughly respond.”
In its 25th March verdict, the Tokyo District Court stated that “an unprecedented, massive scale of harm had been caused,” concluding that those acts constituted the “violations of the law” that are the legal requirements for dissolution set out in the Religious Corporations Act.
Excerpt from the Statement Issued by the Family Federation: Before the shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (安倍 晋三), the number of consultations received by consumer centers regarding our organization in 2020 and 2021 made up only about 0.003% of total cases.
The 32 civil rulings cited by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as reasons for dissolution all pertain to donation-related cases from over 11 years ago, with the average time since the plaintiffs were proselytized being about 32 years.
Since our 2009 compliance declaration [See editor’s note below], we have promoted internal reform, resulting in a reduction of over 90% in both the number of lawsuits and claims via written notices. Complaints to the Consumer Affairs Agency have also become virtually nonexistent.
The group strongly opposes what it calls an unnecessary request for dissolution, stating that even discussing the group’s dissolution is merely a political maneuver or pandering to public opinion.
The Tokyo District Court, while acknowledging the clear decline in incidents since the compliance declaration [See editor’s note below], nonetheless ruled based on speculative reasoning about potential undisclosed cases – an action that the Family Federation says clearly violates the principle of evidence-based trials.
“This decision seems to have reached a preordained conclusion, ignoring both facts and law.”
According to the statement, following the court decision, persecution against the organization’s churches and believers has intensified, threatening Japan’s democracy and violating the human rights and right to life of its followers – Japanese citizens.
The Family Federation concludes with a warning: “The judiciary’s role is to make impartial decisions, regardless of political motives or public opinion pressures. We sincerely hope that the judiciary will not break the foundational principles of democracy – such as the rule of law and legalism – or assist in religious persecution in defiance of international law.”
[Editor’s note: The 2009 compliance declaration of the Unification Church of Japan (now the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) was a formal commitment by the organization to reform its practices in response to longstanding public criticism and legal challenges.
The Unification Church in Japan had faced numerous allegations related to recruitment tactics and donation solicitation, termed “spiritual sales” (霊感商法) by a hostile network of activist lawyers who had declared the religious organization an enemy. These issues led to multiple lawsuits orchestrated by the activist lawyers and significant media backlash. This prompted the organization to take measures to restore its reputation and demonstrate compliance with legal and ethical standards.
The religious organization pledged to stop possibly unethical donation practices, including what the hostile network of lawyers claimed amounted to “pressuring members into making large financial contributions under spiritual pretexts.”
This was in response to accusations from the same activist lawyers that followers “were being manipulated into giving away substantial amounts of money or property.”
The Unification Church stated it would enhance internal oversight to ensure compliance with ethical and legal standards. Measures included better training for leaders and stricter guidelines for evangelization and solicitation of donations.
After this compliance declaration, there was a significant decrease in the number of lawsuits against the Unification Church – since 2015 called the Family Federation. The religious organization has used this as evidence that it has improved its practices and should not be subject to dissolution.]
Featured image above: Norishige Kondo (近藤徳茂)– left – Deputy Director of the Legal Affairs Bureau of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, responds to questions from the media on the morning of 7th April in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Photo: Keizo Mori (森啓造)