TOKYO — Japan’s government asked a court Friday to revoke the legal status of the Unification Church after an Education Ministry investigation concluded the group for decades has systematically manipulated its followers into donating money, sowing fear and harming their families.
The request was made a day after Education Minister Masahito Moriyama announced a panel of experts had endorsed the revocation request based on the findings of the ministry's investigation into the church's fundraising tactics and other allegations. As part of the Education Ministry investigation, officials interviewed more than 170 people allegedly harmed by the church's fundraising tactics and other problems. The church failed to respond to dozens of questions during the seven inquiries, Moriyama said Thursday.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs found 32 cases of civil lawsuits acknowledging damages totaling 2.2 billion yen for 169 people, while the amount of settlements reached in or outside court totaled 20.4 billion yen and involved 1,550 people, Moriyama said. Decades of cozy ties between the church and Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party were revealed since Abe's assassination and have eroded support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government. Kishida told reporters Thursday that the government’s decision to seek the revocation order was made carefully based on facts and was not political, denying speculation it was intended to shore up dwindling public support.
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