PRESS CONFERENCE
The Activities of the Unification Church in Japan
Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Masaki Kito and Yasuo Kawai, Attorney at Law
12:30-13:30 Friday, July 29, 2022
(The speech and Q & A will be in Japanese with English interpretation)
The July 8th murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by Tetsuya Yamagami was carried out, he told police, due to his anger at Abe's connection to a "religious organization", widely reported to be the Unification Church. Since the shooting, political and media attention has turned to the church and its past and present relationship to the Liberal Democratic Party. A long taboo subject for public inquiry, each day brings fresh allegations of connections between the church and senior LDP politicians, some of whom are top members of the LDP faction Abe headed.
The National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales helps church victims. Last September, the network sent a letter to Abe, warning him against appearing in a video for the Unification Church. That video is believed to be the reason he was targeted by Yamagami. More recently, the lawyer's group charged the church's assertation its members are not pressured into giving donations was simply a lie. They cited court rulings that had gone against the church, where it was ordered to return donations to ex-members. Please join us as three of Japan's most knowledgeable legal experts on the Unification Church talk about its activities.
How to attend: Please register at front@fccj.or.jp with your name, the name of your media outlet, and FCCJ membership number. Due to space restrictions attendance will be limited. Doors open 15 minutes before the event. Please sign in, giving your name and contact details at the reception, and have your temperature taken before proceeding.
How to watch online: https://www.youtube.com/c/FCCJchannel/live
Livestreaming of the press events will be available and video of this event will be uploaded to our FCCJ YouTube channel.
How to ask questions: https://forms.gle/QdLe8pid5zR9hXG96
Members watching the event online can submit questions for the speakers in advance using this submission form.
TV crew: Please make a reservation at front@fccj.or.jp. Doors open for TV crews only at 30 minutes before the event.
Professional Activities Committee