Explained: Shinzo Abe killer’s ‘grudge’ against South Korea-origin Church

Tomihiro Tanaka, the president of the Japan chapter of the Unification church stated on July 11, that neither Abe, nor Yamagami were its members.

What is the Unification Church?

Officially known as The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the church was founded by the self-professed messiah, Sun Myung Moon in South Korea in 1954. The followers of the religious organisation are pejoratively known as ‘Moonies’ and consider Moon and his wife Hak Ja Han as their “True Parents.”

Moon, who died in 2012, was a staunch anti-communist and established relations with conservative politicians around the world. After creating a foothold in Korea, Moon began expanding the Unification Church to Japan and the West in the 1950s. The Guardian reports that the church’s connection to Japan is based on the instability the country was facing after World War II, when conservative leaders were trying to prevent the spread of communism into Japan.

The main theological text of the religion is the The Divine Principle, a new interpretation of the Bible, which states that at the age of 16, Moon had a vision of Jesus Christ, who told him to “complete the task of establishing God’s kingdom on earth and bringing peace to mankind”. The church claims to have 3 million members across the world, with 300,000 followers in Japan.

A police officer detains a man, believed to have shot former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Nara. (Reuters)

Why is the church controversial?

Since its inception, the church has built a business empire worth billions of dollars, which includes a newspaper, a sushi distributor, a ballet troupe, expensive real estate, hospitals to name just a few.

Controversies have surrounded the church’s shady financial dealings in the past. In the 1980s, the church had settled hundreds of lawsuits in Japan, which had claimed that church members had convinced people to buy religious icons which supposedly contained spiritual powers. This was believed to be a significant revenue source, allegedly generating more than $400 million a year, according to The Washington Post.

In 1982, Sun Myung Moon was found guilty of tax evasion in the United States and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

The Unification Church gained infamy in the US for conducting mass weddings of thousands of people who were selected and matched by Moon. However in 2001, Moon stated that parents would be allowed to select their children’s partners.

Former members and newspapers also accused the church of ‘brainwashing’ young people to abandon their families and follow Moon, who is regarded as the followers’ “True Father”. The church also lost a libel case that they levelled against the Daily Mail in 1981, which had published an article with the headline: “The Church That Breaks Up Families”.

What are the alleged ties between Abe’s family and the Unification Church?

The church established its Japan chapter in 1959, a year before the three-year prime ministerial term of Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, ended. Kishi, who had shared the Reverend Moon’s anti-communist views, is said to have had ties with the Unification Church and aided in setting up a political organisation closely associated with it, according to the Guardian.

Gentaro Kajikuri, a former president of the Unification Church, had reportedly claimed to have worked with Nobusuke Kishi on political and legislative matters.

The Japan Press Weekly also reported that Kajikuri had even stated that he had interacted with PM Abe’s father, former foreign minister Shintaro Abe on a monthly basis to explain the “unification movement”.

Former PM Shinzo Abe has also been criticised for his tacit support of the church. The Guardian reports that after he delivered a video message to the organisation in 2021, lawyers representing people who claim to have lost money because of the church, issued a letter of protest against him. They also reportedly criticised Abe when he sent a telegram message to a mass wedding of church followers in 2006.

Tomihiro Tanaka, president of the Japan chapter of the Unification Church, has denied any formal links with Shinzo Abe or his grandfather. During a press conference on Monday, he said that Kishi did not take “any special measures or have any special influence on the spread of the religion at all”, as reported by CNN. He also said that while Abe had sent messages during their affiliated events, he was not a registered member of the church.

In a press release on July 12, the church stated, “Yamagami, is not a member of FFWPU (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification), nor do any of our records show a past affiliation. However, our own internal investigation can confirm that his mother is a member of FFWPU and participates occasionally in church activities.”