Japan seeks to dissolve the Japan branch of the Unification Church

Japan seeks to dissolve the Unification Church

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said yesterday that the government would seek to dissolve the Japan branch of the Unification Church, more than a year after the fringe group’s ties to conservative Japanese politicians were revealed in the wake of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination in July 2022.

After the killing, lawmakers scurried to contain the political fallout and began to scrutinize the church, which was found to have manipulated its members into handing over large sums of money over several decades.

What’s next: If the Tokyo district court orders the Unification Church to dissolve in Japan, the church will lose its property tax exemption and have to dispose of its assets. The church could appeal to the Supreme Court, or take its activities underground.

The headquarters of the Unification Church in Tokyo in May. Noriko Hayashi for The New York Times