Japan's Lower House Speaker Admits Connection To Former Unification Church
Japan's Lower House Speaker Hosoda Hiroyuki has admitted attending gatherings hosted by a group related to the controversial former Unification Church.
Hosoda made the admission in a comment released through his office on Thursday.
He had been quiet on the matter despite reports that he had attended such meetings and calls from the opposition to explain himself.
Earlier this month the Liberal Democratic Party conducted an internal review of its lawmakers' individual relationships with the religious group. Hosoda was exempt because he is serving as speaker. His role means he is not currently a member of the LDP caucus even though he was elected as a party member.
In the released comment, Hosoda said he attended such gatherings on four occasions in 2018 and 2019.
He also said he was interviewed by a related group in 2019.
Regarding campaign-related support from the former Unification Church, he acknowledged that a related group in his constituency had shown intention to support him. He added that as far as he knows the people involved are ordinary citizens and not engaged in any illegal activities.
He vowed to avoid associations with socially problematic organizations in future.