Sakurai Yoshihide

Hokkaido University Professor Sakurai Yoshihide, a specialist in the sociology of religion, said the killing of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo exposed various problems with the former Unification Church.

These include dubious marketing practices and soliciting huge donations from followers.

He said religious corporations are expected to engage in public activity and it is crucial that they do not harm public well-being.

But the professor said that the group's practice of so-called "spiritual sales" violated the property rights of ordinary citizens and harmed their well-being, as seen in the suffering of the children of followers and the lives of elderly followers.

Sakurai said that, as a result, the group's qualification as a religious corporation was called into question.

He added that if the education and culture ministry decides to seek an order to disband the group, it means the government has confirmed the minimal requirements of a religious corporation, which are that they must not make followers suffer or inflict damage on society.

Source Link: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20231012_10/