From captivity to courtroom: Japanese woman wins lawsuit over malicious coercive faith-breaking by Christian pastors
Tokyo, 25th March 2025 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article.
[Intro from article 1: In July 2014, an incident occurred in Hiroshima where a couple in their 40s, members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), were forcibly detained by their relatives and confined in an apartment in Osaka. In 2020, the Hiroshima High Court ordered the Christian-affiliated individuals and relatives responsible for the confinement to pay approximately 1.7 million yen [Editor’s note: ca. 11,360 US Dollars] in damages. Yukie Kanamori (pseudonym, in her 50s) spoke to The Sekai Nippo about what happened at the time.]
“They Can’t Think for Themselves,” Said Relatives
[Special Report] Abduction and Confinement of a Married Couple Who Were Family Federation Believers
by the Religious Freedom Investigative Team of the editorial department of Sekai Nippo
Prepared by Knut Holdhus
“So far, I have persuaded hundreds of Unification Church members to leave the church, and only about 30 have managed to escape (from confinement).”
In July 2014, Pastor Mamoru Takazawa (高澤守) of the Christian Truth Church of Kobe (a Protestant church) made this remark in front of Yukie Kanamori (alias) – then in her 40s – who was confined in an apartment in Osaka Prefecture.
Pastor Takazawa maintained a one-sided attitude throughout his interactions with Kanamori and her husband [Editor’s note: while both were held in forcible detention, orchestrated by him. See part 1 of the story]. He would sometimes criticize the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church) from 3 PM to 10 PM nonstop.
Kanamori not only endured the mental distress of being subjected to this “persuasion” endlessly but also had to withstand the physical pain of bruises – requiring two weeks to heal – inflicted when her relatives restrained her. When she could no longer bear the pain and lay down on a futon, Pastor Takazawa furiously exclaimed, “That’s no way to listen to someone talking!”
However, right after Kanamori and her husband were freed by the police, who arrived at the confinement site, Pastor Takazawa gathered her relatives and made them kneel, begging Kanamori not to take legal action. Without giving a response, she returned to her home in Hiroshima and initiated settlement negotiations with her relatives.
The settlement terms included acknowledging the facts surrounding the confinement incident and pledging never to repeat such acts of coercive faith-breaking. Kanamori explained, “I told them that if they adhered to these conditions, I wouldn’t file a lawsuit. The terms were actually quite favorable for them.”
However, her relatives refused the settlement and instead criticized her for even seeking one. Kanamori speculated, “The pastors must have been manipulating my relatives behind the scenes to suit the pastors’ own agenda.”
In November 2014, about four months after the confinement, Kanamori and her husband filed a criminal complaint against Pastor Takazawa and others who played a central role in the coercive faith-breaking. However, in 2015, Takazawa died by suicide. The prosecution ultimately decided not to indict anyone, citing prosecutorial discretion.
Unsatisfied with this decision and still unable to shake off fears of being abducted and confined again, Kanamori and her husband filed a civil lawsuit in May 2016 at the Hiroshima District Court, seeking approximately 7 million yen [Editor’s note: ca. 46,500 US Dollars] in damages from the relatives involved in the confinement and Atsuyoshi Oshima (尾島淳義), a deacon at the Aotani Evangelical Lutheran Church in western Japan.
In February 2019, the district court ruled entirely in favor of Kanamori, ordering her relatives and the Christian officials to pay about 2.8 million yen [Editor’s note: ca. 18,600 US Dollars] in damages.
During the trial, the defendants, including Kanamori’s relatives and the Christian representatives, emphasized the “malicious nature” of the religious organization and the “love and concern” of the family. They argued that Kanamori and her husband had lost the ability to “think for themselves” due to the influence of the organization, making it necessary to physically restrain and persuade them. However, the court rejected this claim, stating that the act of confining and restraining Kanamori and her husband posed a potential threat to their lives and constituted a “malicious criminal act”.
In 2020, the Hiroshima High Court upheld the lower court’s ruling, though it reduced the compensation amount to approximately 1.7 million yen [Editor’s note: 11,300 US Dollars]. Since the defendants chose not to appeal further, the ruling was finalized.
Attempts at Reconciliation
With the trial behind her, Kanamori has attempted to reconnect with her and her husband’s parents. While some contact has resumed, her mother still tells her, “The fact that you joined the Family Federation is more abnormal than being abducted and confined.”
Despite the Family Federation being a religious organization that conducts Sunday services – including hymns, sermons, and prayers – her family refuses to acknowledge it as a legitimate faith, leaving a deep divide between them.
Although the courts ruled that abduction and confinement were criminal acts, Kanamori continues to struggle with how to repair relationships with her parents, who still believe the propaganda about “brainwashing” and “mind control” spread by pastors.
Kanamori expressed frustration, saying, “The parents who were deceived into believing that confinement would surely lead to de-conversion were also victims manipulated by the pastors.”
Since last year, she has begun sharing her experiences on social media, hoping to challenge the negative perceptions surrounding her religious organization. She has also come to realize the power of words from someone who has personally experienced abduction and confinement. She says, “I sometimes regret not speaking out more about our faith and beliefs. Moving forward, I might have more opportunities to share my story.”
Featured image above: The apartment block where Yukie Kanamori was confined – Photo from 2014, provided by the victim.