杀马特

Unification Church slams Japan's dissolution request as a threat to religious freedom_我的网站

铁齿铜牙纪晓岚

一 | TOKYO -- The Japanese branch of the Unification Church on Monday criticized the Japanese government's request for a court order to dissolve the group, saying it's based on groundless accusations and is a serious threat to religious freedom and human rights of its followers. Japan’s Education Ministry on Friday asked the Tokyo District Court to revoke the legal status of the Unification Church after a ministry investigation concluded the group for decades has systematically manipulated its followers into donating money, sowing fear and harming their families.The investigation followed months of public outrage and questions about the group’s fundraising and recruitment tactics after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination last year. The man accused of shooting Abe allegedly was motivated by the former prime minister’s links to the church and blamed it for bankrupting his family.The government's request is “extremely disappointing and regrettable,” said the church's legal affairs department chief, Nobuo Okamura. “We believe the request for a dissolution order is a serious development not only for freedom of religion but also human rights."The request asks the court to issue a dissolution order revoking the church’s status as a religious organization. The process involves hearings and appeals from both sides and would take months or possibly years.A church lawyer, Nobuya Fukumoto, criticized the government for not specifying which law the group violated, and vowed to thoroughly fight it in court. If the church is stripped of its legal status, it could still operate but would lose its tax exemption privilege as a religious organization and would face financial setbacks. Some experts and lawyers supporting the victims have cautioned against an attempt by the church to hide its assets before a court decision. The church worries that the rare dissolution request hurts its image, said Susumu Sato, spokesperson for the group, which officially calls itself the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Church officials said followers and their families have been harassed at work and school. Decades of cozy ties between the church and Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party were revealed since Abe’s assassination and have eroded support for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government. The Unification Church obtained legal status as a religious organization in Japan in the 1960s during an anti-communist movement that was supported by Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.The church has acknowledged excessive donations but says the problem has been mitigated for more than a decade. It also has pledged further reforms.Experts say Japanese followers are asked to pay for sins committed by their ancestors during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, and that the majority of the church’s worldwide funding comes from Japan.The only other religious organizations whose status was revoked are the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which carried out a sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, and the Myokakuji group, whose executives were convicted of fraud.。 Europhile Conservative MPs have poor prospects in the race already underway to replace Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to a British academic.,With BoJo making a slow-motion exit from Downing Street, ministers and backbenchers alike are throwing their hats into the ring for the dual role of party leader and PM.,Johnson announced his resignation as Tory leader on Thursday — pre-empting mooted moves to cut the 'grace period' following an unsuccessful no-confidence vote, which he narrowly survived in June. The famous 'BoJo mojo' was finally overcome by the scandal over Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher drunkenly groping two men at an exclusive private member's club.,Each candidate to replace BoJo needs the nomination of at least eight fellow Tory MPs. Hot tips so far include Johnson loyalists Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, along with Junior Trade Policy Minister Penny Mordaunt — who surprised some by not joining the wave of protest resignations from government — and Rishi Sunak, who led the revolt by quitting as chancellor.,Alistair Jones, associate professor of politics at Leicester's De Montfort University, told Sputnik that the leadership contest to replace the "figurehead" Johnson was still up in the air.,"The situation is going to be very interesting in British politics as we will look to see how many Conservative MPs want to stand to become the party leader and ultimately Prime Minister," he says.,“Now, within the Cabinet, we will see the likes of Liz Truss, [and Home Secretary] Priti Patel putting their names forward, also most likely [Deputy PM] Dominic Raab. Outside of the Cabinet, former minister Michael Gove will also probably put his name forward and then there'll be some other outsiders who are not in the government, such as Penny Mordaunt and Steve Baker.”,But strident remainer and anti-Russia war hawk Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, was fastest out of the traps with five nominations under his belt already.,Professor Jones says that Mordaunt and Steve Baker, who is the deputy chairman of the anti-lockdown COVID Recovery Group and former chairman of the pro-Brexit European Research Group, are the ones to watch.,"Both of them are ardent Brexiteers and it is likely to be an ardent Brexiteer that is going to be elected as leader of the Conservative Party," he points out.,Steve Baker sets out why he would make a good Prime Minister, saying he is very popular with Conservative Home members and he's been told he's popular with the public.Piers challenges him that he might have to "acknowledge reality".@piersmorgan | #PiersMorganUncensored pic.twitter.com/e9qWS1Ae2k— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) July 7, 2022,The Eurosceptic underdogs may overtake heavyweights like Jeremy Hunt, the former foreign secretary who was runner-up to Johnson in the 2019 leadership contest to replace Theresa May.,"Jeremy Hunt, someone that people would like to see possibly elected as party leader as a safe pair of hands because he wasn't a Brexiteer, is not likely to go far," Jones says. "So the question will be how much infighting there is going to be within the Conservative Party until they get a leader elected, and then the extent to which that leader is able to unify the party.",BoJo’s Resignation: How Will Johnson’s Successor Be Picked?11:03 GMT,The academic stresses that leadership contests are always extremely polarizing. "You either support candidate number one or candidate number two when you get to the last two and quite often the two do not see eye to eye," he says.,"There could be an awful hangover for the Conservative Party after this leadership election," Jones warns. "The question will be the extent to which Boris Johnson's legacy is a divided party, and that stays with the party until the next general election" — which might not be until January 2025.。