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2mo ago

Tokyo Court Orders Legal Dissolution of Unification Church

The court strips the group of legal recognition and tax exemptions following its links to Shinzo Abe's 2022 assassination, though it can still operate under Japanese law.

Des milliers de couples se sont mariés lors d’une cérémonie organisée à l’occasion du huitième anniversaire de la mort du messie autoproclamé Sun Myung Moon à Gapyeong en Corée du Sud le 7 février 2020
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Overview

  • The Tokyo District Court issued a legal dissolution order for the Unification Church on March 25, 2025, removing its legal recognition and tax exemptions in Japan.
  • The legal action follows a government investigation launched after the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose killer cited grievances with the Church.
  • The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, accused the Church of financially ruining his family due to significant donations made by his mother.
  • Japan has historically been a financial stronghold for the Church, with members reportedly contributing hundreds of millions of euros over decades.
  • This is only the second time Japan has stripped a religious group of its legal status, the first being Aum Shinrikyo after the 1995 Tokyo sarin gas attack.