Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday dismissed his fourth minister in two months to tide over a scandal-tainted Cabinet that has raised questions over his judgment of choosing his ministerial colleagues. The ousted minister Kenya Akiba, the Minister in charge of the reconstruction of Fukushima and other disaster-hit areas, has faced allegations of mishandling political and election funds and of having dubious ties with the Unification Church, whose collusion with various political leaders enabled them to extort huge money in terms of donations from supporters – have raised a lot of cacophony in recent times.
Various political analysts have commented that Kishida’s lack of decisiveness comes from his weak footing within the governing party. Kishida, whose faction ranks fourth-biggest in the party is compelled to listen to the voices of three bigger factions including one led by the assassinated leader Shinzo Abe and heavyweights like Taro Aso.
Meanwhile speaking to reporters, former Minister Akiba repeated that he has never violated any law in relation to the issues for which he has been castigated. He is a victim of a conflict of interests.
Former reconstruction minister Hiromichi Watanabe has come as a replacement for Akiba. Watanabe’s appointment will be accorded official status after a palace ceremony.
Akiba’s dismissal was seen as Kishida’s attempt to remove an administration’s soft spot that yielded to pressure easily, thus bringing wanton condemnation to the government.
Internal Affairs Minister was also sacked on the same charges
Earlier, Kishida sacked his internal affairs minister Minoru Terada over funding irregularities in a blow to his scandal-prone Cabinet. Terada had also been under fire over several accounting and funding irregularities, besides his connivance with the ‘Unification Church’.
Kishida also has come under fire for holding a controversial state funeral for former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, one of Japan’s most divisive leaders, who is now seen as a key figure behind the LDP’s decades-long murky relations with the church.
Former PM Abe was assassinated for his purported connections with Unification Church
Abe’s friendly ties to the church, as well as those among many LDP lawmakers, surfaced in the investigations into his assassination. The suspect told investigators that his mother had made huge donations to the church, bankrupting his family and ruining his life.
Economic Revitalization Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa quit on Oct. 24 after facing criticism over his lack of explanations about his ties to the Unification Church, starting what became known as “a resignation domino” of the Kishida Cabinet.
Who are these Unification Church?
The Unification Church was established by Sun Myung Moon in 1954 in Seoul. Loosely tied to Judeo-Christian tradition, it preaches that humankind fell from grace as a result of Eve’s fornication and that Moon himself was the second Messiah, sent to purify humankind through his “blessing ceremonies” Controversy has long swirled around the religion, known for its mass weddings and high-pressure fund-raising activities, leading many to brand it a cult. Nonetheless, it boasts between 50,000 and 70,000 believers in Japan. That is more than twice the number of followers in South Korea and a huge chunk of the UC’s global membership, estimated at between 100,000 and 200,000.
Unification Church might be the cause for Abe’s assassination
The Unification Church has come under sharp scrutiny in Japan since the man arrested in connection with the July shooting death of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo told investigators that he was motivated by animosity against the UC and the belief that Abe had close ties to the movement. The mother of Yamagami Tetsuya, the shooter apprehended at the scene of former Prime Minister Abe’s assassination, apparently paid the UC a total of more than ¥100 million, including her husband’s life insurance. Yamagami claims her donations bankrupted and destroyed the family. The incident ignited a firestorm in Japan over the organization’s allegedly fraudulent and coercive fund-raising methods, as well as its links with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
In September 2022, Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency released a report on complaints concerning the UC lodged with consumer affairs centres around the country. According to the report, in the 2020–21 fiscal year, members paid the organization approximately ¥2.7 million on average. A dedicated consumer hotline set up by the government in September has received a flood of calls, a large portion of which concern money solicited for the purpose of “ancestor liberation.” In some cases, payments ranging from around ¥100,000 to several million yen continued over a period of a decade.
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How the Japanese Government should act to thwart this menacing problem?
The most realistic approach would be to seek an order of dissolution under article 81 of the Japanese Religious Corporations Act. The government should set the process in motion by putting the issue to the Religious Corporation Council, which includes legal and religious scholars as well as representatives from religious groups and releasing its conclusions to the public for educating the evils and their consequences.
Article 81 states that the Agency for Cultural Affairs, public prosecutors, or other competent authorities can request a court order revoking a corporation’s legal status “when the religious corporation commits an act which is clearly found to harm public welfare substantially.” The provision has been enforced only twice: in 1995, when ‘Aum Shinrikyo’ was ordered to be dissolved, and in 2002 when the Myōkakuji temple group had its status revoked over fraudulent practices similar to the UC’s “spiritual sales.”
Government is still skeptical in taking actions against UC
Until now government officials have expressed doubts as to whether the procedure would apply to the UC, given that none of the organization’s officers has been arrested or charged in connection with any crime. But with public outrage mounting by the day, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio announced on October 17 that his government would launch an investigation under the Religious Corporations Act. This could open the way for a dissolution order.
And Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has to act sternly to stop the rot and save his government from further turmoil.
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