Japan high court upholds dissolution order for Unification Church

The order was requested by the government on the grounds that it unlawfully solicited financially ruinous donations. Read more at straitstimes.com.

A Japanese high court on March 4 upheld a dissolution order for the Unification Church as requested by the central government on the grounds that it unlawfully solicited financially ruinous donations from its members.

While the group can still appeal to the Supreme Court, the order by the Tokyo High Court will take immediate effect, with the controversial organisation losing its status as a religious corporation with its associated tax advantages and liquidation procedures to begin.

Under Japan’s legal system, authorities can ask courts to order a dissolution if a religious corporation “commits an act that is clearly found to harm public welfare substantially”.

The government argued that the organisation’s tactics, which included approaching individuals without disclosing its identity and soliciting large donations, constituted violations of civil law.

It filed a dissolution request in October 2023 on the grounds that these practices continued nationwide over a long period, resulting in numerous victims.

The Unification Church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, denied organisational involvement in improper solicitations, stating that harm caused by donations has decreased since 2009, when it declared stricter compliance measures.