Japan - March 2025

On 25 March, the Tokyo District Court ordered the legal dissolution of the Unification Church, an influential South Korea-based sect, due to harmful donation solicitation practices. The ruling revokes its tax-exempt status and requires asset liquidation while allowing it to continue religious activities. The decision followed a 2023 request from Japan’s Education Ministry, which cited the church’s manipulative fundraising and recruitment tactics that caused distress in families. Scrutiny of the Church increased after the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, when an investigation revealed long-standing links between the Church and Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic party in political lobbying and fund solicitation. The ruling is the first in Japan to dissolve a religious group for committing illegal acts under the Civil Code. The government has stated it will now shift its efforts to “giving maximum amount of support to the victims,” with plans for a court-appointed liquidator to compensate former members. The Church plans to appeal to the Tokyo High Court, claiming that the decision threatens religious freedom. 

Sources: The Associated Press, Nippon News, Jurist, The New York Times, The Asahi Shimbun