Post by Admin on Oct 15, 2023 20:41:15 GMT
A request for a dissolution order was filed with the Tokyo District Court on the 13th. The issue of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church) will now be left to the judiciary. At first, the Agency for Cultural Affairs was reluctant to make demands or exercise its right to ask questions, but as the issue developed into one that could affect the fate of the government, it was forced to take a heavy stance. However, it is said that there was some disagreement within the Council for Religious Corporations about how to proceed with requests, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs tried to reach a consensus by complaining that the Cabinet would be blown away.
The right to ask questions was included in the 1995 law revision in the wake of a series of incidents involving Aum Shinrikyo, but it has many limitations, including the inability to seize evidence as would be the case in case investigations. From the beginning, the majority opinion was that ''the religious group would only submit materials that were convenient for them'' (a senior official at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology).
For this reason, they had no choice but to accumulate evidence through interviews with victims of donations. Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Masahito Moriyama, emphasized the results of the nearly one-year investigation, saying, ''We have systematically analyzed the evidence we have collected. We can make a sufficient claim.'' However, according to officials, there are still unclear points such as the movement of funds by the religious organization. It is said that there will also be some remaining.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs then notified the Tokyo District Court to file a fine on the grounds that the cult had not sufficiently responded to the exercise of the right to question. At a time when there seems to be a sense of an impasse in the investigation, this could be seen as a way of emphasizing that the charges were reached after exhausting all possible investigations and procedures.
The right to ask questions was included in the 1995 law revision in the wake of a series of incidents involving Aum Shinrikyo, but it has many limitations, including the inability to seize evidence as would be the case in case investigations. From the beginning, the majority opinion was that ''the religious group would only submit materials that were convenient for them'' (a senior official at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology).
For this reason, they had no choice but to accumulate evidence through interviews with victims of donations. Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Masahito Moriyama, emphasized the results of the nearly one-year investigation, saying, ''We have systematically analyzed the evidence we have collected. We can make a sufficient claim.'' However, according to officials, there are still unclear points such as the movement of funds by the religious organization. It is said that there will also be some remaining.
The Agency for Cultural Affairs then notified the Tokyo District Court to file a fine on the grounds that the cult had not sufficiently responded to the exercise of the right to question. At a time when there seems to be a sense of an impasse in the investigation, this could be seen as a way of emphasizing that the charges were reached after exhausting all possible investigations and procedures.