Japan to seek court order to dissolve Unification Church
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TOKYO (Kyodo) — The Japanese government plans to seek a court order to disband the Unification Church, a government source said on Saturday, a move that comes after a monthslong probe into the religious group over allegations of soliciting financially ruinous donations from members and other questionable practices.
Scrutiny of the group intensified after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was fatally shot during an election campaign speech last year over his perceived links to the entity, an incident that also brought to light its connections with many ruling party lawmakers.
According to the source, the Cultural Affairs Agency is currently considering convening a meeting of an advisory body on religious institutions, possibly on Oct. 12, to report its plan, and then asking the Tokyo District Court to issue an order to dissolve the group, the source said.
The agency has judged through documents submitted from the Unification Church and statements of victims who were pressured into making massive donations that the group’s practices amounted to violations of the Religious Corporations Act, according to the source.
The law allows Japanese courts to order the dissolution of a religious group that has committed an act that is “clearly found to harm public welfare substantially.”
Content retrieved from: https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Japan-to-seek-court-order-to-dissolve-Unification-Church.
