Family Federation denounces provisional seizure of land as unfair as the Tokyo District Court approves request from hostile lawyers’ network
Tokyo, 31st July 2025 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article.
Spokesperson of Religious Organization: “The Petition (Filing) Is Dishonest”
Provisional Seizure of Headquarters Land of the Former Unification Church
by the editorial department of Sekai Nippo
prepared by Knut Holdhus
Based on a request from former followers, the Tokyo District Court has issued a decision approving a provisional seizure (temporary court freeze) of the land in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, where the headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church) is located.
In response, the religious organization’s Public Relations and External Affairs Office commented on the official X account (formerly Twitter) on 30th July, stating: “An entirely unnecessary and wasteful procedure has been carried out. There are absolutely no plans to dispose of the land in question.”
The National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales announced on 30th July that ten former followers currently undergoing civil mediation with the religious organization filed the request in June of this year. On 18th July, the Tokyo District Court approved the provisional seizure of the Family Federation headquarters’ land.
This marks the first application of a special law enacted in December 2023 [See editor’s note 1 below]. While the religious organization can continue operating from its headquarters as before, in principle, it will no longer be able to sell or transfer the land.
The official X account also posted: “This one-sided (unilateral) [See editor’s note 2 below] provisional seizure is contrary to good faith, dishonest, and deeply regrettable.”
Featured image above: Tokyo headquarters of the Family Federation of Japan. Photo: Asanagi / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain image. Cropped
[Editor’s note 1: The “special law enacted in December 2023” refers to a legal change that significantly increased government oversight of religious organizations like the former Unification Church (now the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification). Key features include: Religious organizations are required to report their assets – including real estate holdings – to the government at least once every three months.
The religious organizations must notify the government in advance before selling or transferring real estate. The law assists former members seeking compensation for “damages” caused by donation practices. Authorities can order a religious organization to halt certain activities; failure to comply may result in fines (up to ¥1 million) or imprisonment (up to 1 year).
The Tokyo District Court’s decision on 18th July 2025 to approve a provisional seizure of the Family Federation’s Tokyo headquarters land was the first time this law was applied in practice. While the religious organization can continue to operate from the site, the law effectively prevents any sale or transfer of the land, since that would trigger the legal requirements or violate the new restrictions.
This law is often referred to in reports as the special or “asset-tracking” law and was enacted on 13th December 2023. Its application in July 2025 sets a legal precedent by allowing the court to temporarily freeze the Family Federation’s property under these provisions.]
[Editor’s note 2: “One-sided” here means the Family Federation sees the court’s decision as favoring the plaintiffs and ignoring the religious organization’s side of the story. The statement that the provisional seizure is “one-sided” means that the Family Federation believes the seizure was done without fair consultation, without their agreement or input, and solely at the request of the opposing party, the former followers. In other words, the religious organization feels the process was unfair or lacked due consideration of their position. They were not properly heard or involved before the court made the decision. The court granted the seizure based only on the claims of the former members.
In legal terms, a provisional seizure (仮差し押さえ) is often granted by a court before a full trial, usually based on a request from one party. It temporarily freezes property (like land or assets) to prevent it from being sold or transferred while a legal dispute is ongoing.
Even though the Family Federation denounces the court’s decision as biased or unjust, in practice, and as spelt out in the law of December 2023 [See above editor’s note 1], Japanese courts can grant provisional seizures without prior notice to the opposing party, precisely to prevent asset transfers.]