The Japanese government sought a court order on Oct. 13 to strip the Unification Church of its religious corporation status, which, Japan Times writes, is “a move described as tantamount to a death sentence for the church.”
The Moonies, as they are called after their Korean founder Sun Myung Moon, came under fire when the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was carried out by a man claiming that his mother’s wealth had been stripped away by the Moon church. The legal action is based on an investigation into the fund raising by the church, with documentation of many cases of coercion. There is no explicit mention of brainwashing in the legal documents, although that is a common complaint about the Moonies followers. Japan Times notes, for instance, that “These acts—soliciting donations through coercion and fear and depriving followers of the ability to make sound judgments—not only resulted in financial losses but also had severe adverse impacts on affected individuals and their families, ultimately becoming a significant social issue.”
