JAPAN: The state’s crackdown on the Unification Church denounced in Geneva
Patricia Duval, an international human rights lawyer, presented her report on September 25th during a Special Briefing held on the sidelines of the 57th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva
FOREF (10.10.2024) – Good morning, everyone. The situation in Japan is alarming, and I will provide a brief overview of the key issues. My report, *The Witch Hunt to Eradicate the Unification Church in Japan*, may sound dramatic, but it reflects the severity of the current circumstances, with the repressive apparatus deployed by the Japanese authorities, especially in the wake of Prime Minister Abe’s assassination in 2022.
Ten years ago, we presented a Report to the UN on the “deprogramming” of Unification Church members, that is to say cases of abduction, confinement, and enforced de-conversion aimed at making individuals recant their faith.
In 2013, on behalf of the Victims Association, we documented numerous cases, which led the UN Human Rights Committee to recommend that Japan put an end to these practices. However, “deprogramming” has since continued in more covert forms, now coupled with widespread efforts to eliminate the Unification Church from Japan’s religious landscape.
Former members, coerced into leaving the Church, have been induced to file lawsuits seeking damages to prove their apostasy, resulting in a surge of cases orchestrated by an anti-Unification Church Lawyers association. This association, motivated by financial incentives and ideological opposition—many of its members aligning with Communist and atheistic beliefs—has been instrumental in inciting de-converted members to sue the Church.
In 2022, following the assasination of Prime Minister Abe, this network of lawyers falsely attributed blame to the Unification Church. The assassin, the son of a Church member, blamed the Church for his personal misfortunes and used Abe’s occasional supportive gestures toward Unification Church peacebuilding activities as a pretext for his crime. Rather than focusing on the assassin, the media—driven by this lawyers’ network—launched a massive campaign against the Church, labeling it antisocial and malevolent. Under intense public pressure, the Government has since requested the dissolution of the Unification Church—a drastic and unprecedented step.
The Government’s dissolution request is based on 32 tort cases, primarily involving de-converted members, alleging undue influence in soliciting donations. The Courts, influenced by these anti-Church lawyers, have ruled against the Church, accusing it of violating “social norms” through so-called mental manipulation. However, under international human rights law, particularly Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, religious beliefs—including those held by minority groups facing hostility—are protected, and States are obligated to remain neutral and maintain diversity whatever social norms might be in religious matters.
Japan has repeatedly ignored the UN Human Rights Committee’s recommendations to cease using “public welfare” as a pretext for limiting freedom of religion, and now seeks to dissolve the Unification Church based on this flawed justification. The dissolution request is currently before the Tokyo District Court, with hearings scheduled for December this year.
In addition to the dissolution request, two new laws enacted in 2022 and 2023 specifically target the Church. These laws impose arbitrary restrictions by repressing the “unjust solicitation” of donations, i.e. by infringing the free will of donors through mental manipulation, a provision only applied to the Unification Church. It also empowers family members—rather than the Church members themselves—to challenge donations. This undermines the right of individuals to make autonomous religious decisions. The laws also provide financial support for lawsuits against the Church, further eroding the principle of State neutrality in religious affairs.
Moreover, the Government has introduced measures to “re-educate” second-generation Unification Church members. These include briefings by counsellors trained by Unification Church apostates and the distribution of SOS letters to children, encouraging them to report any issues related to their parents’ faith. This blatant violation of parental rights—specifically, the right to educate one’s children in one’s own faith—amounts to a new form of “deprogramming”.
Given these serious violations of human rights, we call on the UN and the international community to take immediate action. I have provided a detailed report and am happy to answer any questions you may have.
Patricia Duval is an Attorney and member of the Paris Bar in France. She has a degree in public law from La Sorbonne University and specializes in international human rights law. She has defended the rights of minorities of religion or belief in European and international fora such as the European Court of Human Rights, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Union and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. She has also published a number of papers and articles which contain critical legal analysis of draft legislation and final laws on religion and religious minorities, and the role of the State in religious matters, such as “Anti-sect Movements and State Neutrality” (Journal for the Study of Beliefs and Worldviews, Dresden Technical University, 2012).
HRWF Footnote: More reading
The Bordeaux Videos: Spotlight on the Unification Church and Japan’s Religious Liberty Crisis (4 October 2024)
Series of reports by Bitter Winter
Japan and the Unification Church: The Duval Report. 1. Organized Tort Cases (26 September 2024)
Japan and the Unification Church: The Duval Report. 2. Abe’s Assassination and Media Blitz (27 September 2024)
Japan and the Unification Church: The Duval Report. 3. Violation of Japan’s International Commitments (28.09.2024)
Japan and the Unification Church: The Duval Report. 4. Enactment of New Laws (30 September 2024)
Japan and the Unification Church: The Duval Report. 5. State-Sponsored Deprogramming (1 October 2024)