Empowering the Heavenly Parent Holy Community
... Beyond institutional and constitutional theory, there is also a human dimension. Tens of thousands of adherents in Japan identify with the Family Federation as their spiritual community. For them, the dissolution of the religious…
... Just as with the Tokyo District Court’s decision last March, the biggest problem with the Tokyo High Court’s recent dissolution order against the Family Federation is that it was issued without granting the right…
... Religions tend to outlast the forces that seek to destroy them. Those forces may believe they have “won” in Japan. History suggests otherwise. It is usually the persecuted who have the last laugh.
... We will never accept this unjust judicial decision and will continue to fight – including by filing a special appeal – to defend freedom of religion.
... Japan has honored Pal for decades. Its courts now face a test of whether Pal’s principled position still applies—three quarters of a century later—when the defendant is unpopular and the political waters are churning.
... The urgent statement by the Special Rapporteurs constitutes a final warning: if higher courts uphold this decision, Japan will be in clear violation of its international obligations and will face severe criticism from the…
... The Human Rights Committee has emphasized that these limitation clauses must be interpreted strictly. Restrictions based on grounds not explicitly listed in the Covenant are not permitted as limitations on freedom of religion or…
... South Korea’s Parliament is currently considering a legal amendment that is so extensive and dismissive of constitutional protections that one might question whether its authors expect the public to read beyond the introduction.
... Even judges begin with prejudice due to Zenkoku Benren’s propaganda. They do not see believers as ordinary people who might be living next door.
... that’s central to the crisis that we’re seeing grow in both Japan and South Korea, a crisis in which politicians are asserting that they have the right to come between God and the citizens.…