Abe Killing Highlights Japanese Politicians Links To Religious Groups

Soon after, the audience heard from another man who shared these views: former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A little more than a month later, Mr. Abe was shot and killed by a man who police say had a grudge against an unspecified “religious group.”

title: “Abe Killing Highlights Japanese Politicians Links To Religious Groups " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-18” author: “Julie Cerezo”

Soon after, the audience heard from another man who shared these views: former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. A little more than a month later, Mr. Abe was shot and killed by a man who police say had a grudge against an unspecified “religious group.” Last month’s rally in support of a former aide to Mr. Abe seeking election to Japan’s parliament offered a glimpse into the ties between political and religious organizations in Japan, which often align to pursue common goals and mobilize blocs. voters. For Mr Abe, sharing the room with a representative of a group founded by the late Reverend Moon Sun-myung was part of family tradition. Mr. Abe’s grandfather, another conservative former prime minister, helped Mr. Moon found an anti-communist organization in Japan in the 1960s. Police say they are investigating whether the shooting suspect, Tetsuya Yamagami, was shooting practice next to a building occupied by the Japanese arm of the Unification Church. The group’s head said Mr. Yamagami’s hostility may have stemmed from donations his mother made to the church.

A tribute earlier this week for Japan’s Shinzo Abe. the suspect in his killing may have been motivated by hostility toward the Unification Church in Japan, the group said.

          Photo: kimimasa mayama/EPA/Shutterstock

Japan’s Constitution prohibits religious organizations from exercising political power. A spokeswoman for Mr. Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party said she knew of no connection between the party and the Unification Church or its affiliates. The church, which is now officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, says Mr. Abe has never been a member or adviser to the organization. Susumu Sato, a church spokesman, said the church does not support specific politicians, but members may support LDP candidates. Academics studying the issue say lobbying of high-level politicians with the prospect of votes from church members in elections is not unusual in Japan, especially by groups that sprung up in the 19th and 20th centuries. “The Unification Church is very ambitious when it comes to courting powerful people, and the LDP is the dominant party, so maintaining close ties is beneficial for the church,” said Levi McLaughlin, a University of North Carolina expert on relations between religious groups and politics in Japan. He said many religious groups are vying for the attention of powerful politicians.

The late founder of the Unification Church, Rev. Moon Soon-Myung Moon, seen in a 2005 photo.

          Photo: John Marshall Mantel/Associated Press

The link can pose risks for politicians when the religious groups they are associated with cause controversy—as happened with the church of the Rev. Moon in Japan, which has been accused of pressuring members to make large donations, which the church denies. Mr. Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, who was prime minister from 1957 to 1960, supported the church’s efforts to grow in Japan, the church says. People and officials gathered in Tokyo to bid farewell to Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese prime minister who was assassinated last Friday. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called Abe a visionary leader as she visits Japan as the first stop on her Asia trip. Photo: Philip Fong/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Mr. Moon, who proclaimed himself the second coming of Jesus Christ in 1992, has forged ties with others in Japan’s ruling LDP. In a speech in 1974, Takeo Fukuda, then finance minister and later prime minister, called Mr Moon “one of the great leaders of Asia”. Church membership in Japan eventually surpassed that of South Korea. From the 1970s, some church members worked as unpaid campaign staff for the LDP, according to historian Richard Samuels. In 1996, Mr. Moon founded another organization in Japan called the Federation for World Peace, which shares personnel with the anti-communist group he created. FWP holds seminars, publishes a magazine and says it engages in political lobbying. The church describes FWP as a sister organization.

The head of the Unification Church in Japan, Tomihiro Tanaka, at a press conference earlier this week regarding the assassination of Shinzo Abe.

          Photo: Kyodonews/Zuma Press

On its website, FWP says its goals include preventing the hegemony of the Chinese Communist Party, building a close alliance between Japan, the U.S. and South Korea, and promoting debate on revising Japan’s constitution to include a clause on family values. At the June rally where Mr. Abe spoke, FWP secretary-general Shunsuke Uotani was the first person to appear on stage as a supporter of the candidate, Mr. Abe’s former secretary who went on to win the election. FWP said Mr. Uotani, who says he is a member of the church on his personal blog, was unavailable for comment.

A young Shinzo Abe sitting on the lap of his grandfather, then Japanese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, third from left. undated family photo released by Shinzo Abe’s office.

          Photo: Anonymous/Associated Press

FWP says it has about 6,000 subscribers to its monthly magazine, of which about 300 are politicians — mostly members of the LDP. Mr. Abe has appeared on the cover of the magazine several times. “We share our thoughts on issues such as the revision of the constitution” with the LDP, said Yoshio Watanabe, an adviser to the federation. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he wants to push through a constitutional revision to boost support for Japan’s military, a move pushed by Mr Abe. Other religiously affiliated groups in Japan are also active in politics. The largest is a grassroots Buddhist organization called Soka Gakkai that created a political party called Komeito. It is now the junior partner in Japan’s ruling coalition. Soka Gakkai says it has members in more than eight million households in Japan.

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Catch up on the headlines, understand the news and make better decisions, delivered to your inbox for free every day. Soka Gakkai followers form one of Japan’s largest voting blocs and are active during elections encouraging voters to support candidates from the Komeito and the LDP. Komeito says it is separate from Soka Gakkai. Among other religious groups, the Shinto Spiritual Leadership Association, a group founded in Japan’s Shinto faith, says 263 members of Parliament are active in the organization, including senior LDP members. Mr Abe gave a pre-recorded video speech at a conference in South Korea held by another group linked to the Unification Church in September 2021 after he left the prime ministership, according to a recording of the event. Other speakers included former President Donald Trump and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. After the video address, a group of lawyers representing people who say they were forced to pay excessive donations to the Family Federation sent a letter to Mr. Abe asking him to cut ties with the Unification Church and its affiliated groups. Lawyers say they haven’t heard back. Mr Abe sent a message to be read at a similar event in February. — Miho Inada and Suryatapa Bhattacharya contributed to this article. Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8