Religious Persecution in Japan
In Japan, sever Religious Persecution is now going on.
I am a member of Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.(FFWPU)
Since the assassination of former Prime Minister, Mr. Shinzo Abe, on 8th July 2022, FFWPU has been criticized by mass media (new papers and TV). The criminal, Yamagami shot Mr. Abe because his mother donated so much money to FFWPU and Mr. Abe sent video message to the event of UPF, of which the founder is Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who is also the founder of FFWPU. It is quite strange that mass media does not critisize Yamagami but critisize FFWPU, as if FFWPU was the real reason of the assasination of Mr. Abe.
The structure of this religious persecution is as following:
1. Kid Napping Deprogramming
FFWPU members have been suffered from Deprogramming activities by professional deprogrammers. The method is “kid napping” and “confinement”, and the number of the victims is more than 4300. Many of the victims gave up faith.
There are other group, Anti Cult News, who has much information of FFWPU and members. They provide information to those deprogrammers. There are other group, Anti Cult Lawyers, who are the litigation attorney of the members who gave up faith by deprogramming. They are obliged to accuse FFWPU, in order to prove that they really gave up faith to the deprogrammers.
2. Media Creates Cult Images
Anti Cult Lawyers and Anti Cult News provide negative information to mass media, who are against FFWPU. FFWPU is strongly against communism, so some of the media wish to surpress FFWPU. Such negative information is profitable for them to get more readers and viewers of their article and program.
Those mass media never write and broadcast the fact of deprogramming activity. Therefore, very few Japanese people know the fact. In this way, religious hate opinion is created.
3. Politics Party and Government Dissolves Religious Group
Anti Cult Lawyers group also approach political party. Originally, Communist Party is eager to crush FFWPU, because FFWPU has strong theory that communism is fault. Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) also took the chance to appeal their presence by attacking FFWPU and Liberty Democratic Party(LDP).
CDP criticizes LDP that FFWPU members support LDP for election. CDP says, there is very deep relationship between FFWPU and LDP. LDP declared to terminate the relationship with FFWPU for all of the phases.
This propaganda is false, because there is no problem that FFWPU has relationship with LDP. It is a proper right that religious gropu ask political party to realise their desire. But LDP tried to avoid such rumor. The approval rating of Kishida Cabinet decreased so much because of the negative campaing of mass medial. In order to prove that LDP has no relationship with FFWPU, Mr. Kishida made challenge to dissolve FFWPU. As a result, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology who is handling religious issue declared to dissolve FFWPU under the order of Prime Minister, Mr. Kishida.
So, there are 3 big persecution power in Japan. There is no record that a religious group is dissolved without criminal problem. It means, religious freedom is facing crisis in Japan.
I wish that many Global People know and understand the situation of religious persecution in Japan.