Japan enacts law to restrict malicious donation solicitations by religious and other groups

Published December 11, 2022 By admin with Comments 1

Japan’s parliament on Saturday enacted a law to restrict malicious donation solicitations by religious and other groups, which mainly targets the Unification Church, whose fundraising tactics and cozy ties with the governing party caused public outrage.

The South Korean-based religious group’s decades-long ties with Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party surfaced after the July assassination of former leader Shinzo Abe. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose support ratings tumbled, sought to calm public fury over his handling of the scandal and has replaced three Cabinet ministers – one over his church ties, another over a capital punishment gaffe and a third over political funding problems.

The new law, approved at this year’s closing parliamentary session, allows believers, other donors and their families to seek the return of their money and prohibits religious groups and other organizations from soliciting funds by coercion, threats or linking donations to spiritual salvation.

Kishida, who has heard former adherents’ experience, described their sufferings as “ghastly” and praised the law as a bipartisan effort to help the victims and their families.

Content retrieved from: https://japantoday.com/category/politics/Japan-enacts-law-to-restrict-malicious-donation-solicitations-by-religious-and-other-groups.