Top court rules Unification Church no-refund document invalid
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Japan’s top court on Thursday overturned a lower court ruling that had absolved the Unification Church from returning donations to the family of a late former member, deeming that a document the woman signed preventing her from seeking refunds was invalid.
In the first ruling by the Supreme Court on donations to the religious group, its First Petty Bench sent the case back to the Tokyo High Court, citing insufficient examination of whether the organization had acted illegally.
The woman’s family is seeking around 65 million yen ($402,000) in damages from the group. Many other members are known to have signed and submitted similar documents to the Unification Church, which has been under renewed scrutiny since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated, allegedly by the disgruntled son of a member.
“If the way donations are solicited significantly deviates from societal norms, it is appropriate to deem it illegal,” the court said, referring to circumstances where donors are unable to make informed decisions.
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