Toshiko Abe on altering evidence
Sankei Shimbun reveals controversy over Family Federation trial as government ministry faces accusations of altering evidence
Prepared by Knut Holdhus
Sankei ShimbunThe Sankei Shimbun, one of Japan’s five largest national newspapers by circulation, revealed in an article on 25th February 2025, details of a controversy that involves the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as the Unification Church. A dispute has arisen over a closed-door hearing at the Tokyo District Court regarding the petition from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to dissolve the religious organization that is relatively large in Japan, with its 600,000 members.
The Family Federation has challenged the credibility of some evidence submitted by MEXT, arguing that statements collected from current and former members include fabrications. In response, Minister Toshiko Abe (阿部俊子) maintained that disclosing evidence from a confidential court session is not appropriate.
According to the Sankei Shimbun, the religious organization released on 19th February a report authored by its legal team, titled “Fabrication of False Evidence by MEXT”. The report claims that a significant portion of the 261 written statements presented by MEXT in court were compiled by government officials following interviews with members and ex-members.
The Sankei article claims that two former members of the religious minority during the hearing process testified that portions of their written statements contained information unfamiliar to them. They admitted to signing and stamping the documents without thoroughly reviewing their content.
Meanwhile, a current member alleged that MEXT officials recorded their testimony without explaining its purpose and later compiled it into a statement. This document concluded with the phrase “I can only hope for the dissolution (of the religious organization),” but the individual insisted they had never made such a remark and did not view themselves as a victim. Consequently, they requested a correction.
Additionally, the large daily reports that other statements included errors unlikely to have been made by actual members. One example involved a linguistic inconsistency: within the Family Federation, the biblical figure Eve is traditionally referred to as “Eba” in Japanese, yet the statements used “Ibu”, which closely mirrors the English pronunciation of “Eve”.
Another discrepancy was the use of the term “priest” (Japanese: 神父 – shinpu) – a designation common in Catholicism but not used within the Family Federation to refer to religious leaders. The organization argues that these inaccuracies indicate the statements were crafted by officials from MEXT, and not by members of the Family Federation or former adherents.
The Sankei Shimbun mentions in addition that the religious organization asserts that some individuals whose statements were included had no known record of membership of the Family Federation. Among them were people who had previously made donations, but not necessarily to the religious organization – some had contributed to other religious groups.
Responding to these allegations, Minister Abe stated – according to the Sankei – at a press conference on 21st February that the government’s request for a court order to dissolve the Family Federation “was made appropriately”.
The government minister criticized however the decision by the religious organization to release the report, contending that making evidence from the trial public contradicts the very rationale for conducting the hearings privately. She also stated that the government had communicated its concerns about this disclosure to the court. However, she refrained from expressing whether the statements the Family Federation has called into question were correct or not.
This ongoing dispute adds further complexity to the case, as the credibility of key testimonies is now under scrutiny. The controversy surrounding the evidence could potentially impact the court’s decision on whether to approve the dissolution order sought by MEXT.
Featured image above: Rev. Tanaka of FFWPU Japan and Toshiko Abe (阿部俊子), Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Photo (2023): 首相官邸ホームページ / Wikimedia Commons. License: CC Attr 4.0 Int. Cropped