By Oyintari Ben
A federal investigation of the Unification Church, a sect that has gained attention after the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was ordered by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday.
A probe into Abe’s murder has uncovered connections between the Unification Church and the country’s conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). However, Abe had no direct connections to the disputed Church.
Resentment toward the religious group, which has been accused of bullying members into making hefty donations, reportedly drove the man accused of killing Abe.
Individuals are outraged that the Liberal Democratic Party hasn’t completely disclosed its connections to the Church, and as a result, support for the administration of current Prime Minister Kishida has decreased to its lowest point since he entered office last year.
What is the relationship between the Church and the man accused of shooting Abe?
The mother of the accused has been a long-time member of the Church, according to the results of the police inquiry into the murder of Abe in July.
The accuser thought Abe had pushed the Church, to which his mother had given substantial sums of money.
The minister for education and culture, Keiko Nagaoka, claimed that Prime Minister Kishida had asked her to look into the situation. On Monday, she said, “I’ll get started right away.”
According to local media in Japan, the investigation would look at whether the Church had hurt public welfare or engaged in behaviour that was inconsistent with its standing as a religious organization.
According to Japan’s religious companies law, the investigation can result in a dissolution order, in which case the Church would no longer qualify as a tax-exempt organization and would have to pay taxes. But even in that scenario, the Church would still be able to function.
On July 8, two days before a legislative election, Abe was shot by a handmade gun while giving a campaign address in the western city of Nara.
