January 30, 2026

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira at a press conference in the Diet building on January 29 cited a weekly magazine report alleging that a Unification Church-affiliated group had purchased party tickets for Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, and said, “Takaichi and the LDP have an accountability obligation regarding this matter.”

The February 5 issue of the magazine “Shukan Bunshun” reports that it obtained internal documents from Takaichi’s office and found that she had received a total of 100,000 yen in fundraiser ticket purchases from an organization linked with the Unification Church and its associates.

According to the magazine, the purchases took place in March 2019, involving 40,000 yen from a Unification Church-affiliated group (the Nara prefectural federation of the Federation for World Peace), and in 2012 a total of 60,000 yen from individuals connected to this group.

Prior to the Shukan Bunshun, the Akahata Sunday edition in its September 25, 2022 issue also reported on the purchase of Takaichi’s fundraising party tickets by this organization based on testimony from individuals.

Koike said, “It is highly likely that the Takaichi side concealed the acceptance of money from the group.” He added that this suggests a deep connection between Takaichi and the Unification Church, and demanded that Takaichi and the LDP fulfill their accountability regarding the allegations.