Japan’s finance minister resigns over ties to Unification Church
Daniel Stewart - Oct 24
Japan's Minister of Economy, Daishiro Yamagiwa, resigned on Monday before Prime Minister Fumio Kishida over his ties to the controversial Unification Church, a sect that has been in the spotlight following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by a man who blamed him for encouraging the establishment of the religious group in the Asian country.
File - File image of a photo of Shinzo Abe after his assassination. - Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press via Z / DPA© Provided by News 360
Yamagiwa's resignation letter is another blow to the Kishida administration and responds to calls from the opposition, which demanded his departure from the government, as reported by the Kiodo news agency.
The secretary general of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, Kenta Izumi, said that "he should have resigned before parliamentary plenary sessions resumed" and accused Kishida of "lacking the necessary decision-making capacity".
Kishida has shown a more rigid stance towards the Unification Church after receiving criticism about the government's laxity towards the religious movement, especially after receiving numerous complaints from followers who claimed to be coerced into donating large sums of money to the sect.
Last week, the government asked the Ministry of Education to open an investigation into the "sales" tactics of the group, which could lose its "religious corporation" status if it violated the law governing such movements on Japanese soil, although the final decision rests with the courts. However, even if it loses this status, the movement could continue to carry out its religious activity.
Yamagiwa, meanwhile, has been receiving criticism for a lack of explanation about his ties to the group after admitting that he had met in 2018 with Hak Ja Han Moon, widow of the church's founder, Syun Myung Moon.
PRESSURE ON GOVERNMENT DEPUTES
Several Japanese deputies have denounced having been pressured by groups affiliated with the Unification Church to push forward policies akin to the sect. Two of these groups have reportedly tried to persuade the governmental Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to promote policies in response to the support received by them in previous 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 members of parliament to sign documents that include related policies, according to 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.
In September, a survey conducted within the formation suggested that at least 180 deputies had had some kind of relationship with the group, whose name has recently gained prominence following the accusations of Abe's confessed murderer, Tetsuya Yamagami, who claimed that the sect had bankrupted his family.
Hideyuki Teshigawara, who heads the Unification Church, has admitted that one of its affiliated groups, the World Peace Federation, has tried to urge some members of parliament to sign documents that include related policies, according to 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.
In September, a survey conducted within the formation suggested that at least 180 deputies had had some kind of relationship with the group, whose name has recently gained prominence following the accusations of Abe's confessed murderer, Tetsuya Yamagami, who claimed that the sect had bankrupted his family.
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