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Japan may seek to dissolve Moonies church in wake of Shinzo Abe killing

mbpm

mbpm

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Oct 25, 2017
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www.theguardian.com

Japan may seek to dissolve Moonies church in wake of Shinzo Abe killing

Japanese media report the courts may be asked to disband the Unification church amid criticism of ruling party’s ties to organisation
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com

Japan's government may ask courts to order the dissolution of the Unification church following the assassination in July last year of the former prime minister Shinzo Abe, according to multiple local reports.

The church, whose members are known colloquially as Moonies, could be subject to a court order to disband as early as next month, pending the completion of an inquiry into the group's controversial fundraising activities, according to the Kyodo news agency, which cited an unnamed government source.
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Under Japan's religious corporations law, a court can issue a dissolution order if an organisation has committed acts that are "clearly recognised as being substantially detrimental to public welfare".

Groups that are dissolved are stripped of their status as a religious corporation, losing their exemption from corporate and property taxes, as well as a tax on income from monetary offerings, according to the Mainichi Shimbun.
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But it could operate in a new incarnation. After it lost its status as a religious legal entity in late 1995, the Aum doomsday cult renamed itself Aleph and continues to recruit members and solicit donations, according to the justice ministry.
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The prime minister, Fumio Kishida, may be hoping the move will quell criticism of his party's ties to the church, the Asahi suggested. In the months after Abe's death, the media uncovered evidence that LDP politicians – and a much smaller number of opposition MPs – had ties to the group, from giving speeches at church-sponsored events to enlisting followers to work on election campaigns.
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Abe, whose grandfather, former prime minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped the ultra-conservative church establish a presence in Japan in the 1960s, was shot dead in July 2022 by a man who has said he harboured a grudge against the Unification church and Abe.

The suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, whose trial on murder and other charges is not expected to start until next year, has reportedly told police he targeted the politician, whom he shot at close range with a homemade weapon at an election rally, because of his family's ties to the Moonies.
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Yamagami, who underwent a psychiatric evaluation lasting several months, said he blamed the church for bankrupting his family after his mother, a member, donated more than 100m yen (£542,000) to the group two decades earlier.

Abe was not a member, but sent a congratulatory video message to a church affiliate in late 2021, in which he said he shared its belief in traditional family values.
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The group claims to have 100,000 active believers in Japan and has collected nearly $1bn in donations since 1987 and generated 35,000 compensation claims, according to the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales, which represents people who claim they have suffered financial damage because of the church.

Japan has around 180,000 registered religious organisations, but only two have received dissolution orders: the Aum Supreme Truth doomsday cult, whose members carried out a deadly sarin attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, and the Myokakuji temple group, whose leaders were accused of defrauding followers.
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strange sequence of events this whole thing was
 
The Quentulated Mox

The Quentulated Mox

Corrupted by Vengeance
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Jun 10, 2022
5,640
please tell me The Contraption is in a museum, some of the most historically consequential pvc pipes ever
 
Bowl0l

Bowl0l

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,608
Simple way to deter such scams, stop providing tax relieves for monetary offerings. Once the tap is dry, the scammers will leave
 
Drain You

Drain You

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,059
Connecticut
I dated a chick for a while that was unified at that church. Def a bit out there. I totally forgot about this even being a thing till just now.
 
BlackLagoon

BlackLagoon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,940
I remember reading something about how the founder had something of a dislike for Japan, and thus Japanese members are asked to pay more money than those from other countries.
 
Aske

Aske

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
5,888
Canadia
Bowl0l said:
Simple way to deter such scams, stop providing tax relieves for monetary offerings. Once the tap is dry, the scammers will leave
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Yep. Thinking beyond Japan, it's unconscionable that in 2023, organized superstition is rewarded by so many governments. The tax money left on the table is wasted while people living in poverty are denied benefits because there isn't room in the budget.
 
AlexBasch

AlexBasch

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,561
Let me get this straight.

Man is angry because his mother spent most of her money donating to that Church, which had ties with Shinzo Abe.
Shinzo Abe is killed with a shotgun made by a Scribblenauts prompt.
The killing of Abe results in the closing of the Unification church that motivated the assassination.
Man somehow succeeds destroying the church.

Yay...?
 
Nateo

Nateo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,097
yogurt said:
Ehhh I wouldn't go that far. Violence can backfire spectacularly.
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I mean sure it can but most of modern revolutions werent made without it. Violence works and don't forget violence doesn't just mean hurting people. Riots etc which damage property is also Violence.
 
Lord Fanny

Lord Fanny

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Apr 25, 2020
28,562
This dude has to have pulled off the most successful assassination of all time. At least top 5
 
yogurt

yogurt

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,604
Nateo said:
I mean sure it can but most of modern revolutions werent made without it. Violence works and don't forget violence doesn't just mean hurting people. Riots etc which damage property is also Violence.
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Right, but riots, uprisings, and so on can also backfire spectacularly, and have throughout history. Violence is more effective at forcing a resolution, but that resolution isn't always going to be the one you want.
 
OnionPowder

OnionPowder

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Oct 25, 2017
9,786
Orlando, FL
yogurt said:
Right, but riots, uprisings, and so on can also backfire spectacularly, and have throughout history. Violence is more effective at forcing a resolution, but that resolution isn't always going to be the one you want.
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As Kwame Ture once said, in order for non violence to work your opponent must have a conscience.

I think it's safe to say that "backlash" against attempted violence, or in better terms - self defense, is a continuation of the status quo. That violence leading back to you which is what was already happening. Sure it's happening at an increased rate right now, but when you fight back they will try to strike you down.
 
RiOrius

RiOrius

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Oct 27, 2017
6,197
Bowl0l said:
Simple way to deter such scams, stop providing tax relieves for monetary offerings. Once the tap is dry, the scammers will leave
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You think scammers will give up over a percentage of their profits? C'mon.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see churches taxed, but let's not pretend it'd kill off Scientology et al. They've got enough income to pay up. Especially in the age of social media, when I've gotta imagine scamming is cheaper than ever.

These guys have been around since Nixon. They used to run game over the phone, in person at airports, etc.
 
yogurt

yogurt

Member
Oct 25, 2017
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OnionPowder said:
I think it's safe to say that "backlash" against attempted violence, or in better terms - self defense, is a continuation of the status quo.
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There are innumerable examples of violence leading to something worse than the preceding status quo. Like the '79 Iranian revolution, the 2016 Turkish coup attempt, and even 9/11.

Violence forces situations towards resolutions, but those resolutions are not always good.
 

Divine Moleman

Member
Apr 2, 2021
2,257
The reason this worked is because the Moonies are small fries in the larger scheme of things. Dissolving the japanese side of the church is only going to piss off like what 200,00 people max? And that includes their 80,000 or so Japanese members.
 
OP
OP
mbpm

mbpm

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
26,324
yogurt said:
There are innumerable examples of violence leading to something worse than the preceding status quo. Like the '79 Iranian revolution, the 2016 Turkish coup attempt, and even 9/11.

Violence forces situations towards resolutions, but those resolutions are not always good.
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If one were an "arc of justice" person one could argue that all these things are just part of the path that had to be ridden toward anyway. Of course, not everyone is.
 

Deleted member 8750

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
3,532
Based on my limited understanding of it, this particular church seems to on its way out. Their numbers had peaked in the 1980s and they've been on the decline ever since then so that probably makes it easier for the politicians to cut ties with them.
 
The Quentulated Mox

The Quentulated Mox

Corrupted by Vengeance
Banned
Jun 10, 2022
5,640
krazen said:
I was going to say, goddamn I can't think of an assassination of a fairly elected democratic leader current or past where the world was collectively like…they had a point.
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I do think the "past" specification is a big part of it. If he was the sitting PM at the time it would probably be seen as far more destabilizing
 
Helix

Helix

Mayor of Clown Town
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Jun 8, 2019
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dude really making changes from beyond the grave, fucking lol
 
collige

collige

Member
Oct 31, 2017
12,772
Good news, America should go next.

Kinvara said:
Based on my limited understanding of it, this particular church seems to on its way out. Their numbers had peaked in the 1980s and they've been on the decline ever since then so that probably makes it easier for the politicians to cut ties with them.
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They still publish the Washington Times in the US though, plus there's this dude who bought a compound in Waco, Texas

newFile-5.jpg
 
Valkerion

Valkerion

Member
Oct 29, 2017
7,747
Honestly though surprised this is possibly going through. The whole thing was a weird mess. The dude seemingly was a crazy person who turned out to be spot on about the government links to the group and absolutely nothing was done about it. But also its so out of the cultural zietgiest already here as most things tend to be after a few weeks, I don't think anyone would notice.
 
danm999

danm999

Member
Oct 29, 2017
18,416
Sydney
AlexBasch said:
Let me get this straight.

Man is angry because his mother spent most of her money donating to that Church, which had ties with Shinzo Abe.
Shinzo Abe is killed with a shotgun made by a Scribblenauts prompt.
The killing of Abe results in the closing of the Unification church that motivated the assassination.
Man somehow succeeds destroying the church.

Yay...?
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Click to shrink...

It really resonated with the public because stories of the Moonies basically scamming people out of their savings in Japan was very common, and an astonishing amount of LDP members were found to have deep connections with the Church.

It's a really wild story actually the Japanese public were kind of shocked how much influence this 'cult' had with their own government. Funding, running election campaigns, allegations they were influencing national policy, really crazy stuff.
 
Bowl0l

Bowl0l

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,608
AlexBasch said:
Let me get this straight.

Man is angry because his mother spent most of her money donating to that Church, which had ties with Shinzo Abe.
Shinzo Abe is killed with a shotgun made by a Scribblenauts prompt.
The killing of Abe results in the closing of the Unification church that motivated the assassination.
Man somehow succeeds destroying the church.

Yay...?
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Click to shrink...
Most efficient shonen hero. Only need a one shot.
 
Mobius 1

Mobius 1

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,608
North Point, Osean Federation
danm999 said:
It really resonated with the public because stories of the Moonies basically scamming people out of their savings in Japan was very common, and an astonishing amount of LDP members were found to have deep connections with the Church.

It's a really wild story actually the Japanese public were kind of shocked how much influence this 'cult' had with their own government. Funding, running election campaigns, allegations they were influencing national policy, really crazy stuff.
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Imagine what the Japanese would think of America then.
 
collige

collige

Member
Oct 31, 2017
12,772
BlackLagoon said:
They also have huge presence in the North American fresh seafood/sushi market through True World Foods.

www.nytimes.com

The Untold Story of Sushi in America (Published 2021)

How a controversial religion from Korea quietly built an empire of raw fish.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
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I had no clue about this, but it's not surprising considering how huge the list of groups associated with them is. I'm just now learning that they own the Manhattan Center and New Yorker Hotel in NYC too.
 
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