Award-winning Japanese author criticizes the role of activist lawyers in dehumanizing believers, portraying them as mind-controlled pawns
Tokyo, 12th February 2026 – Published as an article in the Japanese newspaper Sekai Nippo. Republished with permission. Translated from Japanese. Original article.
Zenkoku Benren Is a “Left-Wing Movement Concealing Its True Identity,” Says Masumi Fukuda in a Lecture in Chiba
by Takahide Ishii (石井 孝秀)
Prepared by Knut Holdhus
Masumi Fukuda (福田ますみ), author of the nonfiction book “Sacrificed by the State” (Asuka Shinsha), which addresses the issue of the dissolution of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), delivered a lecture in Chiba City on 11th February – hosted by the Chiba Citizens’ Association for Protecting Freedom of Religion and Human Rights.
She stated that, due to the activities of the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales (Zenkokubenren – 全国霊感商法対策弁護士連絡会), the image spread that “the Unification Church is absolute evil.” Masumi Fukuda emphasized, “Without carrying out a revolution, the activist lawyers completely changed people’s will. It is the most successful postwar left-wing movement that has concealed its true identity.”
Fukuda analyzed that lawyers affiliated with Zenkoku Benren instilled societal prejudice, portraying believers as “mind-controlled followers” [See editor’s note 1 below], including claims that they were “indoctrinated to believe they would go to hell if they did not maintain their faith.” She further stated, “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.”
At the same time, she pointed out problems with the religious organization’s own response. Fukuda commented on the issue in which many followers were allegedly abducted and confined by members of their own family – under the guidance of professional “deprogrammers” (specialists who pressure individuals to renounce their faith) [See editor’s note 2 below] – for the purpose of forcing believers to leave the religious organization. She said, “There may have been circumstances, but there was insufficient outreach to society. If they had made greater efforts to communicate to more people, perhaps things would not have gotten this bad.”
She also referred to allegations of fabrications of some written statements by former believers, submitted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, as evidence of legal violations constituting grounds for the organization’s dissolution. Masumi Fukuda asserted, “Forgery by government officials would be a major incident. It would be a huge scandal, and the media must give it more coverage.”
Featured image above: Nonfiction writer Masumi Fukuda (福田ますみ) delivering her lecture on 11th February 2026 in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Photo: Takahide Ishii (石井 孝秀)
[Editor’s note 1: In Japan, the “mind-control” myth has been a powerful tool used to stigmatize and suppress new religious movements (NRMs), particularly since the 1980s. The concept suggests that NRMs manipulate or “brainwash” their followers, depriving them of free will and rational thought. This narrative gained traction after the 1995 Aum Shinrikyō sarin gas attack, when public fear of dangerous cults intensified. Although Aum was an extreme and violent exception, the incident cast suspicion on all NRMs, allowing critics, media, and the government to label diverse groups as manipulative or psychologically coercive.
The “mind-control” myth serves multiple social and political functions. It simplifies complex questions of belief, making it easier to portray converts as victims rather than as individuals exercising spiritual agency. This framing justifies legal and social intervention, including the coercive “deprogramming” of believers – sometimes involving confinement or psychological pressure to force renunciation of faith. Lawyers, ex-member groups, and certain media outlets have used the idea of mind control to construct NRMs as threats to family stability and national order, reinforcing social conformity and Japan’s preference for established, non-controversial religions such as Buddhism and Shinto.
In recent years, the myth resurfaced following the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose attacker cited resentment toward the Unification Church. A public outrage largely created by media reignited scrutiny of NRMs, and politicians and journalists revived “mind-control” rhetoric to explain the Church’s fundraising and recruitment practices. Critics argue that this framing discourages genuine religious tolerance and critical examination of Japan’s restrictive religious climate. Overall, the “mind-control” myth functions less as a scientific or psychological concept and more as a moral panic – a cultural weapon used to delegitimize minority faiths and to reaffirm mainstream social norms about religion, obedience, and the boundaries of acceptable belief.]
[Editor’s note 2: Coercive faith-breaking (“deprogramming”) in Japan refers to the practice of coercively attempting to separate individuals from their religious affiliations or beliefs, typically through intervention by family members, professional faith-breakers (deprogrammers) or organizations hostile to new religious movements (NRMs). This phenomenon often targets members of such movements, e.g. relatively large faiths like the Family Federation or Jehovah’s Witnesses, but also smaller groups like Happy Science (Kōfuku no Kagaku) and other newer religious movements.
However, also Soka Gakkai, a Buddhist-based lay organization with more than 8 million Japanese members, and affiliated with Nichiren Buddhism, has occasionally been subject to faith-breaking attempts.
The practice gained attention in the latter half of the 20th century, particularly in the 1980s and 1990s. Parents or concerned family members often hired faith-breakers who taught them how to abduct and forcibly detain believers. Almost all such cases involved confining the individual believer and cutting him or her off from the religious community. During the confinement, the believer was subjected to intense questioning or indoctrination designed to break his or her faith. The aim was to “rescue” the person from what the family had often been tricked into regarding as a harmful influence from the religious organization.
Critics of forced de-conversion argue that it violates fundamental human rights, including freedom of thought, religion, and association. Reports of psychological trauma and accusations of unlawful detention have sparked debates over its ethical and legal implications. In response, some religious groups, particularly NRMs, have lobbied for greater protections against such practices.
Japanese courts have been inconsistent in addressing cases of coercive faith-breaking. While some verdicts have condemned the practice as illegal detention, others have been more lenient, citing family concerns about “mental health” or alleged “exploitation” as mitigating factors.]