Experienced Japanese politician explains how politicians’ fear of not being re-elected plays a major role in the current crusade of the Kishida administration against religious minority
Tokyo, 18th July 2024 – Published as the 12th article in a series in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article
Behind the severing of ties lies the single-seat constituency system
by the Religious Freedom Investigative Team of the editorial department of Sekai Nippo
prepared by Knut Holdhus
“In the past, at the anniversary events of the Federation for Victory over Communism (国際勝共連合), members of the Diet would line up like shining stars, but at last year’s 55th-anniversary event, for some reason, I was the guest representative. It’s puzzling why there were no National Diet members present. They have no backbone.”
That’s what Toshikazu Masubuchi (増渕賢一), a conservative stalwart who served as speaker of the prefectural assembly (1991-2011) and secretary-general of the Tochigi Prefectural Branch of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said in an interview with this newspaper at his home in Utsunomiya City. He said it with an expression that looked like he had bitten a bitter worm.
The International Federation for Victory over Communism, led by chairman Masayoshi Kajikuri (梶栗正義), is a political organization with ties to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), which advocates for the defeat of communism.
Masubuchi was the sole guest to attend the 55th-anniversary event of the federation held in Tokyo on 16th June last year. He was astonished to see not a single Diet member present, whereas over 50 Diet members had filled the front rows at the 50th-anniversary event. This was before the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
One year later, during the recent Federation for Victory over Communism conference held on 13th July, both national and local legislators were present. When Masubuchi took the stage for his guest address, he appeared somewhat relieved and stated, “Many comrades have taken a cold attitude since this issue arose but seeing that there are still comrades here strengthens my resolve.”
Masubuchi has been associated with the Federation for Victory over Communism for 50 years. When he established the Tochigi Prefecture branch of the Federation, public security officials warned him that there seemed to be connections with South Korea. He found common ground in their political goals, however, and they hit it off.
In August 2022, the government and the Liberal Democratic Party announced a policy to cut all ties with the former Unification Church and its affiliated organizations. As a result, believers across the country started experiencing discrimination, such as being denied apartment contracts or the use of public facilities, as well as even receiving death threats.
Masubuchi lamented, “If public awareness were higher, this kind of thing wouldn’t happen, but the public’s understanding of basic human rights hasn’t reached that level. The leftists, especially those who loudly advocate for human rights, including the media, are actively promoting and supporting this negative campaign against the Family Federation.”
Toshikazu Masubuchi, who has always been targeted by progressive groups and the media for his conservative statements, even before the incident, says he feels a sense of despair beyond disappointment with the media.
“I’ve been a prefectural assembly member for 34 years, and I’ve never dealt with human rights issues even once. It is just a given thing. For members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and conservative politicians, basic human rights and freedom of religion are taken for granted. The fact that the LDP’s leader himself would undermine this fundamental premise is clearly absurd. It is concerning that Japan’s Prime Minister intrudes upon something sacred and inviolable – such as religious freedom – without shame. Moreover, the party forbids its members from interacting with the Unification Church and related organizations. It’s all very strange.”
Notably, not a single member of the LDP stands up to defend the human rights of the Family Federation believers. When asked why, Masubuchi immediately responded, “It’s the adverse effect of the single-member district system in the House of Representatives elections. In a single-member district system, the party leader wields dictatorial power. They hold the power of ‘life and death’ over the party members. If you go against the party leader, you will lose official endorsement in the next election. It’s extremely difficult to run as an independent candidate in a single-member district.”
From the perspective of someone who has observed politics from the local level, the root cause leading up to the request for a court order to dissolve the Family Federation as a religious corporation seems to be related to “elections”.
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Featured image above: Toshikazu Masubuchi speaking at a conference held by the Federation for Victory over Communism on 13th July 2024 in Tokyo. He was born in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture in 1946. After graduating from Tamagawa Gakuen High School, he joined Masubuchigumi, a company run by his father. He was first elected to the Tochigi Prefectural Assembly in 1975. He served nine terms until 2011. He is a former Speaker of the Tochigi Prefectural Assembly (1991-2011) and former Secretary General of the Tochigi Prefectural LDP. Photo: Sekai Nippo