Tokyo High Court on Wednesday 4th March upheld a district court order for the dissolution of the controversial religious group Unification Church, stripping the organization of its status as a religious corporation. “A dissolution order is necessary and inevitable, even when taking into consideration the impact on followers’ freedom of religion,” Motoko Miki, presiding judge of the high court, said.
Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld a district court order for the dissolution of the controversial religious group Unification Church, stripping the organization of its status as a religious corporation. “A dissolution order is necessary and inevitable, even when taking into consideration the impact on followers’ freedom of religion,” Motoko Miki, presiding judge of the high court, said.
The Tokyo High Court will decide on March 4 whether to back a lower court’s order for the Unification Church to disband itself, informed sources said Wednesday. If the high court upholds the dissolution order, it will take effect regardless of whether the religious group appeals to the Supreme Court, and liquidation procedures will begin. The group could continue its activities as a voluntary organization, but it would lose its status as a religious corporation and would no longer be eligible for tax benefits.
The Tokyo High Court will decide on March 4 whether to back a lower court’s order for the Unification Church to disband itself, informed sources said Wednesday. If the high court upholds the dissolution order, it will take effect regardless of whether the religious group appeals to the Supreme Court, and liquidation procedures will begin. The group could continue its activities as a voluntary organization, but it would lose its status as a religious corporation and would no longer be eligible for tax benefits.
Yamagami will file an appeal on Wednesday at the Osaka High Court following recommendations by his defense team that he proceed, the sources said.
Presiding Judge Shinichi Tanaka suggested that the motive claimed was irrational, stating, “It cannot be said that his background had a great impact.” During the trial, the defense argued that, given Yamagami’s troubled background related to the controversial religious group Unification Church, with which Abe allegedly had ties, his sentence should be no more than 20 years.
Presiding Judge Shinichi Tanaka suggested that the motive claimed was irrational, stating, “It cannot be said that his background had a great impact.” During the trial, the defense argued that, given Yamagami’s troubled background related to the controversial religious group Unification Church, with which Abe allegedly had ties, his sentence should be no more than 20 years.
A district court in western Japan is scheduled to hand down a sentence on Wednesday to the man accused of fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022. A key issue is how Nara District Court will assess the influence on the defendant, Tetsuya Yamagami, of his mother’s involvement with the Unification Church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.
The Unification Church backed 290 lawmakers of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the 2021 House of Representatives election, according to South Korean media reports citing internal documents of the religious group. The documents also reportedly show that, after Abe was shot dead while delivering a campaign speech in 2022, the Unification Church deleted records on Tetsuya Yamagami, who is on trial for the murder.
Public prosecutors on Thursday sought a life sentence for Tetsuya Yamagami, who is charged with fatally shooting former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun in the western city of Nara in July 2022. In the 15th hearing of the lay-judge trial of Yamagami, 45, at Nara District Court, the prosecution said that the shooting was “an extremely grave incident unprecedented in our country’s postwar history” and a “shortsighted and selfish” crime, leaving “no room for leniency.”The defense requested a fixed-term sentence. The verdict is scheduled to be handed down on Jan. 21.
Barrier Free Japan