Japan court strips ‘Moonies’ Church of legal recognition

A Japanese court ordered on Tuesday that a religious sect be stripped of official recognition, the government said, in the wake of the assassination of ex-premier Shinzo Abe.

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A government spokesman told AFP that the Tokyo District Court “issued the dissolution order” for the Japanese chapter of the Unification Church, founded in South Korea and nicknamed the “Moonies” after its late founder, Sun Myung Moon.

The Church is accused of pressuring followers into making life-ruining donations, and blamed for child neglect among its members, although it has denied any wrongdoing.

Former prime minister Abe, Japan’s longest-serving leader, was shot dead on the campaign trail in 2022, allegedly by a man who resented the Unification Church.

The alleged assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, was reportedly angry that his mother had donated around 100 million yen ($1 million at the time) to the Church.