On July 8th, 2022, Japan’s former Prime Minister, Abe Shinzo, was assassinated by an individual holding a grudge against the Unification Church. The assailant, motivated by a belief that Abe had ties to the organization, had attributed his family’s financial downfall to the substantial donations his mother made to the religious group. The Unification Church, which has been deemed a cult by its critics, has a presence in more than 100 countries, including Japan. In Japan, it has established notable connections to the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the nation’s largest political party, of which Abe was a member, making his murderer’s claim not unsupported.    

The Unification Church was founded in the years following World War II by Korean Moon Sun Myung, a religious and business leader. The organization is a new religious movement that is derived from Christianity. While Christians are only about one percent of Japan’s population, the Unification Church has managed to form widespread ties to the LDP, a Japanese nationalist political party that has held power almost without interruption since 1955. One man who was influential in the LDP’s formation and who would serve as prime minister from 1957-1960 was Abe’s maternal grandfather, Kishi Nobusuke. Kishi had a close relationship with Moon and even appealed to US President Ronald Regan to release Moon from prison after he was found guilty of tax evasion.    

The initial international foothold of the Unification Church was established in Japan, and the country remains its largest source of income. Although the LDP and members of the religious group hold conservative political views, it seems unexpected that some Japanese politicians would have such close ties to the organization. Moon, who was born in 1920 in present-day North Korea, grew up under Japanese occupation. The Korean peninsula was under Japanese rule from 1910-1945, and his upbringing during this period greatly influenced his worldview. Remarkably, within the church’s founding doctrine, Japan plays a role. The country is symbolically depicted as the “Eve nation” and is held responsible for Korea’s decline, which is characterized as the “Adam nation.” In Moon’s autobiography, As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, he referred to Japan as the “enemy country”, but he believed the two nations should remain in contact with each other so that Korea could evangelize Japan and be positioned as the “senior partner” in their bilateral relationship.  

Furthermore, despite the ties between the Unification Church and the LDP, the two groups appear discordant for another reason. While serving as Prime Minister, Abe was notorious for his longtime goal of wanting to amend Article 9 of Japan’s constitution, as did his grandfather. Due to the atrocities committed by Japan during World War II, a clause was added to its constitution that renounces war as a means of settling international disputes and prohibits Japan from maintaining military forces for aggressive purposes. This push to revise Article 9 by some Japanese politicians is viewed by many in South Korea as a security threat due to ongoing historical disputes between the neighboring countries. It seems paradoxical that a right wing Japanese nationalist political party would form ties with a religious group whose foundational beliefs depict Japan as responsible for Korea’s decline.   

Moreover, due to the church’s efforts to extract more money from its Japanese members than it does elsewhere, some analysts believe that more than 80% of the Unification Church’s revenue originates from Japan. One reason why the religious group has been able to secure more funding from its Japanese members is that the church holds ancestor liberation ceremonies where its followers are required to liberate their ancestors from hell. The expenses of these ceremonies vary based on members’ home countries. To liberate their first seven generation of ancestors, Japanese members are required to pay just under $5,000 USD, while American members pay $700 USD and Chinese members pay $100 USD. Japanese members have been preyed upon and have been made to feel guilty due to the occupation of Korea and the crimes committed during World War II.   

Since Abe’s assassination, the Unification Church in Japan has come under even greater scrutiny. The government is seeking to dissolve the church’s status as a religious organization because of its methods for gathering funds and attracting new members, although this could potentially increase the likelihood of its activities being driven underground. Additionally, since the Unification Church was founded in South Korea, some Koreans in Japan have feared hate incidents. After Abe’s passing, the South Korean consulate in Fukuoka, Japan, issued an alert urging Koreans to stay cautious but were forced to take it down after complaints from Japanese people who felt they were being unfairly labeled as potential offenders.   

The Unification Church’s connection to the LDP highlights the complex interplay between religion, history, and international relations. The ties between the church and the Japanese political party, despite their conflicting ideologies concerning Japan’s role in Korea’s history, demonstrate how politics can sometimes lead to unexpected alliances. In September 2022, an internal survey done by the Japanese government found that nearly half of its lawmakers had ties to the church. It remains to be seen what role the Unification Church will continue to have on Japanese politics, if any, or if the Japanese government will make good on its promise to sever all ties with the religious group.   

Kristin Hynes is a PhD candidate in International Relations at Florida International University who primarily focuses on East Asia. She can be reached at Kristinhynes.com.