Kishida again denies knowing of Unification Church members at meeting

Tokyo, The Gulf Observer: Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida reiterated Tuesday that he was not aware that senior members of the controversial Unification Church were present at a meeting he held four years ago, following the publication by a newspaper of photographs of the event.

The Asahi Shimbun reported earlier in the day, citing unnamed sources, that a former leader of the Unification Church’s U.S. branch was among those present at Kishida’s talks on Oct 4, 2019, with Newt Gingrich, the ex-speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

“My position has not changed even if there are photos,” Kishida told reporters, adding it is usual for photographs to be taken during such meetings.

The daily reported Monday that the chief of the Japan branch of the Universal Peace Federation, launched by the founder of the Unification Church and his wife, attended the meeting at the headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party with Kishida, who was then the party’s policy chief.

A church source said the leaders of the U.S. and Japan branches met with Kishida in October 2019 at the LDP headquarters, adding they were originally scheduled to meet with then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe but ended up meeting Kishida instead.

In response to the initial report, Kishida said Monday he was “not aware” Unification Church members were present at the talks, adding, “There were many people there, and I do not know who was among them.”

He also denied having any links to the church and added the matter had been investigated.

Established in South Korea in 1954 by a staunch anti-communist, the group, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, has been under scrutiny in Japan since Abe was fatally shot by Tetsuya Yamagami while giving an election campaign speech in July 2022.

Yamagami, who has been indicted over the shooting, told investigators he held a grudge against the Unification Church as massive donations by his mother to the organization had ruined his family.

He told investigators he targeted Abe because his grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped to establish the church in Japan in 1964.

Following Abe’s assassination, links between many LDP lawmakers and the Unification Church were revealed, raising concern about its political influence.

Amid growing criticism of the church’s aggressive solicitation of donations and other malicious practices, Kishida’s government filed a request with a court in October for an order to dissolve the Unification Church, which could deprive the religious corporation of its tax benefits.