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2026 September 2 - 8 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

With S. Korean court ruling on Han, LDP called to account for its ties with Unification Church

Akahata ‘radar’ column (excerpts)

A South Korean court on August 31 reportedly sentenced the head of the Unification Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification), Hak Ja Han, to two years in prison for corruption charges including bribing ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s wife and aides. In addition, it was reported that South Korean investigative authorities seized 26 billion won (approximately three billion yen) in cash from a secret safe in Han’s bedroom.

It is believed that Han’s illegal activities and hidden reserves had been funded with a large amount of money sent to the head office in South Korea by the Unification Church in Japan. This money was generated from spiritual sales of exorbitantly priced goods and large donations obtained through pressure tactics which had created many unwitting victims. In Japan, the issue of extent of damages caused by the anti-social cult remains unresolved.

Starting with former Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke (grandfather of ex-PM Abe Shinzo), Abe and many other Liberal Democratic Party politicians had forged close ties with the Moonies on the sole basis of anti-communism, giving endorsement to church activities.

At the end of 2025, the church’s internal document called “TM (True Mother) Special Report” became public. The report had been submitted to Han, who is known to followers as “True Mother”. According to the report, the organization in the 2021 general election provided support to 290 LDP candidates. The report mentioned PM Takaichi Sanae’s name 32 times.

In the wake of the deadly shooting of ex-PM Abe in July 2022, then PM Kishida Fumio the following month conducted a survey of LDP lawmakers regarding their relations with the Moonies, and released the results showing that 179 LDP elected representatives had connections with the cult.

However, both the LDP and the current government led by PM Takaichi show no signs of remorse over the LDP-Moonies ties as evidenced by the appointment to one of the party’s key positions of Hagiuda Koichi, who was highly praised in the TM Special Report as a person playing a key role in linking ex-PM Abe to the church.

The South Korean court in its ruling pointed out that Han’s criminal offence was intended to obtain political support for church policies and buy political influence. It is possible that the Unification Church also exerted influence on policy-making in Japan. The LDP should investigate this matter and bring the results to light.

Past related articles:
> Unification Church’s ‘TM Report’ calls JCP ‘Satan’ [February 5, 2026]
> PM Takaichi plans to call snap election supposedly to avoid Diet questioning about LDP’s ties with Moonies [January 14, 2026]