Japan's Government Will Exercise Right To Question Religious Group
Japan's government will exercise the right to question the former Unification Church and open a probe into alleged dubious activities. The religious group is accused of soliciting large donations from members and shady marketing known as spiritual sales.
Education and culture minister Nagaoka Keiko said on Friday that many court rulings have acknowledged illegal activities by the group and its members.
Nagaoka said this meets one of the criteria put together by an expert panel for exercising the right to ask questions.
She said a total of at least 1.4 billion yen, or about 9.8 million dollars, has been awarded in damages to plaintiffs in rulings against the group in civil trials.
Nagaoka added that this also meets another criterion -- grave damage caused by illegal activity.
She said she plans to consult the religious corporation council regarding the questions that the government will ask the group and the reasons for doing so.
The ministry will draft the questions and reasons, and refer the draft to the council, possibly this month. It will then exercise the right to question the group.
If the ministry learns facts that warrant an order to disband the group, it will ask a court to issue such an order.
The use of the right to ask questions will be the first since it was established in a 1996 legal revision.
The revision allows the culture ministry and prefectural governments to request reports and question executives of religious corporations suspected of violating laws.
It followed a series of incidents perpetrated by the Aum Shinrikyo cult, including the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.
The former Unification Church, now called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, said it will respond sincerely to the government's request and prepare to answer the questions.