After the murder of former prime minister Shinzo Abe rekindled interest in the Unification Church, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida authorized a government investigation on the organization on Monday.
The church has come under fire for allegedly forcing its members to provide substantial sums of money, which is why the guy accused of killing Abe supposedly had a grudge against the organization.
The religion, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, was established by Sun Myung Moon in Korea, and its adherents are commonly referred to as “Moonies.”
The church has denied wrongdoing, but a slew of ex-members have come forward to criticize its methods, and information about the group’s connections to powerful politicians has contributed to Kishida’s favor ratings plummeting.
The minister for education, culture, sports, science, and technology, Keiko Nagaoka, told reporters that Kishida “instructed me to use our right to probe the Unification Church.”
“I will begin immediately,” she said.
Kishida is anticipated to address the issue later on Monday, but local media reported that the investigation will look at whether the church had compromised public welfare or engaged in behavior that was inconsistent with its standing as a religious organization.
The outcome of the investigation could result in a religious corporations law dissolution order, which would result in the church losing its status as a tax-exempt religious organization but would not prevent it from continuing to operate.
Local media reports that only two religious organizations in Japan have ever been given such a directive, one of which was the Aum Shinrikyo cult, which was responsible for the 1995 sarin attack on the Tokyo subway.
The other is a group that swindled members.
However, it is said that because to worries about religious freedom, the government is reluctant to issue the Unification Church such an order.
