Several Japanese deputies have denounced Friday that they have been pressured by groups affiliated with the Unification Church to push forward policies in line with the sect.
File - File image of a photo of Shinzo Abe after his assassination. -
Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press via Z / DPA
Two of these groups have allegedly tried to persuade the governmental Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to promote policies in exchange for the support received by them in past elections.
Hideyuki Teshigawara, who heads the Unification Church, has admitted that one of its affiliated groups, the World Peace Federation, has tried to urge some deputies to sign documents that include related policies, according to reports by the Kiodo news agency.
Sources close to the matter have said that two organizations have reportedly contacted members of the formation nationwide and that some of the documents have been signed. At least three deputies have admitted receiving the documents in question.
The organization has been accused of forcing its followers to make large donations and its name has recently gained prominence after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose self-confessed advisor, Tetsuya Yamagami, accused the sect of having bankrupted his family and Abe of having contributed to its establishment in the Asian country.
Despite these reports, the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, defended the objectivity of his party's deputies and pointed out that these cases have had no impact on the legislative process.
On Monday, Kishida himself promised to open an investigation against the Unification Church after the government received 1,700 telephone inquiries from followers complaining about its practices. In late July, several Japanese politicians admitted to links with the sect following the assassination of the former prime minister.
Two of these groups have allegedly tried to persuade the governmental Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to promote policies in exchange for the support received by them in past elections.
Hideyuki Teshigawara, who heads the Unification Church, has admitted that one of its affiliated groups, the World Peace Federation, has tried to urge some deputies to sign documents that include related policies, according to reports by the Kiodo news agency.
Sources close to the matter have said that two organizations have reportedly contacted members of the formation nationwide and that some of the documents have been signed. At least three deputies have admitted receiving the documents in question.
The organization has been accused of forcing its followers to make large donations and its name has recently gained prominence after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose self-confessed advisor, Tetsuya Yamagami, accused the sect of having bankrupted his family and Abe of having contributed to its establishment in the Asian country.
Despite these reports, the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, defended the objectivity of his party's deputies and pointed out that these cases have had no impact on the legislative process.
On Monday, Kishida himself promised to open an investigation against the Unification Church after the government received 1,700 telephone inquiries from followers complaining about its practices. In late July, several Japanese politicians admitted to links with the sect following the assassination of the former prime minister.
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