Panel experts to review standards in probe of Unification Church

In preparation for an investigation of the religious group commonly known as the Uni cation Church under the Religious Corporations Law, the rst meeting of the Cultural A airs Agency’s expert panel agreed Tuesday that standards should be set for the proper exercise of the government’s “right to ask questions.” e panel con rmed that the agency will present it with a dra set of standards to review at its next meeting on Nov. 8.

e meeting was the rst step in a process with a view to requesting a dissolution order for the group, which is o cially called the Family Federation for World Peace and Uni cation. e right to ask questions was added to the revised law, which came into force in 1996, and has never been exercised.

e meeting was attended by 18 of the panel’s 19 members, either in person or online, and about half of them expressed their opinions.

Although some expressed the opinion that “religious freedom must be taken into consideration” in exercising the right to ask questions, there were no objections or concerns voiced, according to sources.

A er formulating the criteria, the agency will consult with the Religious Juridical Persons Council, an advisory body to the education, culture, sports, science and technology minister, on speci c items of questioning and how to conduct the probe.

is council will be composed of the same members as the expert panel.

e government intends to begin the investigation as soon as possible within this year, a er hearing the opinions of the council.

If the Uni cation Church is found to be in serious violation of laws and regulations, the government will request a court to issue a dissolution order for the group.

If the dissolution order becomes nal, the Uni cation Church will be stripped of its status as a religious corporation, which quali es it for tax bene ts.

However, it could continue to exist as a voluntary religious organization.

QUESTIONNAIRE WITH DEADLINE

e exercise of the right to ask questions will be handled by the Religious A airs Division of the Cultural A airs Agency, which has jurisdiction over religious corporations.

e agency will present the questions and the reasons for asking them to the Uni cation Church in writing. If the group fails to answer the questions, the representative o cial of the group will be ned up to ¥100,000.

With the consent of the Uni cation Church, it is legally possible to enter and inspect facilities.

e provisions of the Religious Corporations Law provide the right to ask questions on “matters relating to the management and operation of the business or a airs of a religious corporation,” while requiring that religious freedom be taken into consideration.

Speci cally, the questions are expected to cover the existence and use of pro ts from the group’s businesses, whether there are any violations of laws and regulations or activities deviating from the group’s purpose, and nancial information.

Although the law does not specify a deadline for responses, the agency intends to set a deadline in order to avoid delay in the response.

If the agency determines that a response is insu cient, it may ask the question multiple times.

Since the Religious A airs Division has only eight sta members, other departments of the agency and the education ministry have dispatched support sta to bolster the division’s readiness.

Education minister Keiko Nagaoka said at a press conference on Tuesday, “We will also get cooperation from legal and accounting experts,” indicating that she intends to respond in cooperation with other ministries.

In order to collect a wide range of information on suspected illegal activities by the Uni cation Church, the agency also intends to cooperate with the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales, which is working to provide legal support for victims.

e Uni cation Church has stated that it will respond in good faith to any questions that come its way.

However, observers in religious circles have expressed concern that it will be di cult to uncover new facts through an investigation based on exchanging documents, and that the investigation will probably be limited to con rming facts that have already emerged. (Oct. 27)

The Yomiuri Shimbun A meeting of an expert panel is held in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Tuesday.