Overview

• Eight individuals in their 20s to 40s filed a collective suit at Tokyo District Court on July 24 seeking approximately ¥320 million in damages.
• They allege the Unification Church directed their parents to prioritize doctrine over their children’s rights, resulting in neglect, social isolation and other abuses.
• The lawsuit claims these church-driven practices infringed on their freedoms of religion and marriage and caused lasting psychological and developmental harm.
• Legal observers say this is the first collective legal action by second-generation members against the Unification Church, potentially setting a precedent for institutional accountability.
• Public scrutiny of second-generation hardships surged after the 2022 assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe by an individual who blamed his mother’s church involvement for his family’s collapse.