The Family Federation of Japan filed an appeal against Tokyo District Court’s dissolution order decision described as a preordained and speculative verdict
Press release issued by the public relations department of the Family Federation of Japan on 7th April concerning the appeal to the Tokyo High Court of the dissolution order case lost in Tokyo District Court. See the original article in Japanese.
Prepared by Knut Holdhus
On 7th April, our organization filed an appeal regarding the decision made by the Tokyo District Court on 25th March concerning the request for a dissolution order.
Since being certified as a religious corporation 60 years ago, our organization has not been involved in a single criminal case. In terms of civil cases, only two instances over these 60 years have resulted in findings of unlawful conduct allegedly committed by our organization.
However, in October 2022, then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida overnight abruptly reversed the government’s previous legal interpretation overnight, declaring that civil law violations could also constitute grounds for dissolution of a religious corporation under the Religious Corporations Act as a “violation of laws and regulations”.
We believe that dissolving a religious corporation based on such vague civil infractions should never be permitted. The series of actions by the government – from the exercise of the “right to question” to the petition for a dissolution order – are nothing short of religious persecution by the state, specifically targeting our organization, and violate the Constitution.
Before the shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the number of consultations received by consumer centers regarding our organization in 2020 and 2021 made up only about 0.003% of total cases. Moreover, 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. There is no necessity for a dissolution petition, and even discussing the dissolution of our organization is purely a political move or pandering to public opinion.
The Tokyo District Court acknowledged that cases of misconduct have clearly decreased since our compliance declaration [See editor’s note below]. Yet it went so far as to issue a dissolution order based on speculative recognition of unreported cases, thereby violating the principle of evidentiary trial. This decision seems to have reached a preordained conclusion, ignoring both facts and law.
Furthermore, the court ignored several critical facts: that more than half of the plaintiffs in the 32 civil cases were former members who left the faith under coercion, such as abduction and forcible faith-breaking; that some of the statements by former members compiled by MEXT were fabricated; and that testimonies by so-called “apostates” lack credibility.
The most noteworthy aspect of this decision is its blatant disregard for UN recommendations and violation of international law. The United Nations Human Rights Committee has issued three recommendations to the Japanese government, stating that religious expression should not be restricted on the grounds of “public welfare”. Yet, Article 81, Paragraph 1, Item 1 of the Religious Corporations Act, which MEXT cited as the legal basis for the dissolution order, includes “infringement of public welfare” as a requirement. Thus, using this provision as a basis for a dissolution order is a clear violation of these recommendations, and the Tokyo District Court‘s decision constitutes a direct breach of international law.
Following this ruling, persecution against our churches and members has intensified. Democracy in Japan is under threat for the personal gain of a handful of politicians and bureaucrats, while the human rights and right to live of our believers, who are Japanese citizens, are being violated.
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.
Our organization is committed to fighting with all our strength to prevent this.
[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), Deputy Director of the Legal Affairs Office at the Family Federation headquarters, outside the Tokyo High Court answering questions from media after handing in the appeal documents on 7th April 2025. Photo: Screenshot from FFWPU video.