Japan's Govt. Provided Financial Aid To Group Linked To Ex - Unification Church
Japan's Foreign Ministry has disclosed that it provided a grant of about 9.5 million yen, or about 67,000 dollars, to a nongovernmental group linked to the controversial religious organization previously known as the Unification Church.
A ministry official spoke about the matter at a Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee meeting on Friday. The official said that the ministry decided in February 2015 to award the grant as part of its Official Development Assistance scheme.
The nongovernmental group was building a job training school in Senegal.
Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa said the decision was made after the ministry concluded that the project would enable Senegalese women to receive high-quality job training.
Hayashi said the ministry did not realize at the time that the group was linked to the religious organization. He added that he instructed officials to determine whether there were similar cases.
The ministry also disclosed that in 2018 the then-ambassador to Rwanda delivered a speech during a ceremony at a technical vocational school run by a group affiliated with the former Unification Church.