Overview

• The Tokyo District Court has revoked the Unification Church's legal status, citing manipulative fundraising practices and a failure to reform.
• The church will lose its tax-exempt privileges and face financial scrutiny, with its assets subject to liquidation under the ruling.
• The decision follows investigations triggered by the 2022 assassination of Shinzo Abe, which exposed the church's deep ties to Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
• The church, founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon, has vowed to appeal the ruling, framing it as an attack on religious freedom.
• This marks only the third dissolution of a religious organization in Japan, setting a historic precedent for accountability in religious institutions.