Post by Admin on Jul 12, 2022 8:35:26 GMT
What is the Unification Church and could it be linked to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination?
Tomihiro Tanaka, the president of the Japanese branch of the Unification Church, confirmed on Monday that Yamagami’s mother is one of its members. He also noted that Yamagami and Abe were not members.
The suspect’s mother reportedly became a member of the church in 1998 before going bankrupt in 2002. She stopped attending from 2009 to 2017 but reconnected with other church members around two to three years ago. According to Tanaka, she has been attending church meetings and events around once a month for the past six months
Tanaka reportedly refused to comment on how much the suspect’s mother donated, and he denied that she was forced by the church to donate money.
While the Unification Church said it did not have a direct relationship with the former Japanese leader, Tanaka admitted that Abe expressed support for its global peace movement.
Abe previously spoke at an event hosted by a Unification Church-affiliated organization last September. Politicians from other countries, including the U.S., were also reportedly involved in the event. Abe delivered a speech in which he praised the organization for its “focus and emphasis on family values.” Meanwhile, other affiliates of the church reportedly continue to draw in various Japanese lawmakers to their events.
In 1954, the Unification Church was founded in South Korea by Sun Myung Moon, who was allegedly an anti-communist and self-declared messiah.
The church established other branches overseas, including its Japanese branch in the late 1950s. The church found “common cause” with right-wing politicians in Japan, such as Abe’s grandfather Nobusuke Kishi.
Around 600,000 people in Japan are members of the church and have reportedly helped it generate billions of dollars in income. Moon helped to create a multi-billion-dollar corporate empire with ventures such as the Washington Times, United Press International and the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, before his death in 2012.
Critics and former members have identified the church as a cult; however, the church has denied previous accusations and claims to be legitimate.