Relying on discredited pseudo-scientific theories, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations asked the Parliament to imitate the obnoxious French anti-cult law.
by Patricia Duval
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The Japan Federation of Bar Associations (hereafter the “Lawyers’ Federation” or the “Federation”) organized a study session at the National Diet on February 25, 2025, on “Effective Relief and Prevention of Harm Related to the Former Unification Church and Related Issues.”
Apart from recommendations made to review the existing legislation to ease the distribution of assets of the Unification Church following its foreseen dissolution, recommendations were made to put in place anti-mind control measures, namely:
- A new law on infringement of free decision-making
- The creation of an anti-cult agency
- Arrangements for the de-conversion of second-generation members.
These recommendations were based on the Federation’s proposals and opinion papers from November and December 2023.
These proposals outlined the reasons for the proposed measures: the alleged seriousness of the “cult” problem. According to the Federation, so-called “spiritual sales” came to light around 1975, and efforts to recover damages concerning them from the former Unification Church began in 1987.
It so happens that this is when incidents of deprogramming (abduction, confinement, and forced de-conversions) started to take place, and financial claims began to be filed by new former members under coercion.
After the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack by Aum Shinrikyo, the shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022 was the occasion for the Federation to draw huge social attention through media hype to the damage allegedly caused by the “former Unification Church.”
According to the Federation, it became clear that people suffered property damage under mind control, which could have a profound impact not only on the members of the group themselves, but also on the lives of their families.
The government subsequently held a conference of ministries and agencies to discuss issues related to the “former Unification Church,” and experts conducted studies on the subject. The Lawyers’ Federation was invited and gave their expert opinion that there were many cases in which the persons who made the donations were still unaware of the damage and were causing problems for their relatives.
They therefore consider current members of the Church as potential victims who are under mind control and are “still unaware” of being victims. They added that the problem of so-called “cults” is that those groups create a state of severe mental or physical dependency in those who participate in their activities.
The Federation explained that they followed the concept of “cultic organizations” in France’s anti-cult law, which refers to abuses committed by organizations that “carry out activities with the purpose or effect of creating, maintaining, and exploiting a state of severe mental or physical dependency in those who participate in such activities,” per the exact wording of the French law (“About-Picard Law,” 12 June 2001).
The Federation is thereby seeking to impose on the Japanese government the French policy of the fight against “cultic abuses.”
However, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Asma Jahangir, found in her report after her visit to France from 18 to 29 September 2005: “87. Nevertheless, the fight against cults raises an issue under the right to freedom of religion or belief, protected by international standards. Following the adoption of the above-mentioned About-Picard Law, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in its resolution 1309 (2002) emphasized that, ‘[a]lthough a member State is perfectly at liberty to take any measures it deems necessary to protect its public order, the authorized restrictions on the freedoms guaranteed by [a]rticles 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion), 10 (freedom of expression) and 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the ECHR are subject to specific conditions […]’ [and] invite[d] the French Government to reconsider this law…” (E/CN.4/2006/5/Add.4, 8 March 2006).
Notwithstanding this Council of Europe Resolution and the UN Special Rapporteur’s condemnation, the Federation is pushing for adopting a similar law on the “fight against cults” in the Japanese Diet.
This recommendation was made based on the Federation’s “Opinion Paper Calling for Legislative Measures to Effectively Provide Relief and Prevention of Harm Caused by Malicious Commercial Practices such as Spiritual Sales that Undermine Individual Freedom of Decision-Making” (December 14, 2023).
Based on the discredited theory of mind control, the Federation explained to the Diet the necessity of enacting a new law to prohibit “undue solicitation that exploits an individual’s inability to make reasonable judgments.”
It was not explained what constitutes “reasonable judgment” in matters of religious choices, although the theme of the session made clear that joining a minority labeled as a “cult,” especially the Unification Church, was considered the result of “impaired” judgment.
According to the Federation, when a person’s vulnerabilities—such as weakness, anxiety, fear, personal worries, or desires—are exploited, even individuals who may not lack knowledge, experience, or judgment may be rendered incapable of rational decision-making.
Such situations lend themselves to manipulation, leading to psychological dependency, and the affected individuals may begin donating money or purchasing goods simply because they are told that doing so will “change their fate.”
If “the persons are made to believe that there is only one path to salvation, they may blindly follow a spiritual leader or doctrine. As this mental state is maintained, continuous donations may be made. In this way, undue solicitation that takes advantage of a person’s vulnerabilities can strip them of the ability to protect their interests or make sound judgments, leading to donations made without proper scrutiny.”
This is the doctrine of mental manipulation by religious leaders or a doctrine that is typically applied only to minority groups labeled as “cults.” It is obviously not intended to apply to traditional religions.
This vague and discriminatory concept has been rejected by Courts in Western countries and found to have no scientific basis by the European Court of Human Rights (“Jehovah’s Witnesses of Moscow v. Russia,” 10 June 201, §129).
It is also a copy and paste of the French “About-Picard” Law, which criminalizes “exploiting a state of severe mental or physical dependency in those who participate in those activities.”
This law was criticized by the UN Special Rapporteur and the Council of Europe as not fulfilling the requirements for restrictions on freedom of religion or belief under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Similarly, it does not fulfill the same requirements set out in Article 18.3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that Japan has signed and is bound by.
Patricia Duval is an attorney and a member of the Paris Bar. She has a Master in Public Law from La Sorbonne University, and specializes in international human rights law. She has defended the rights of minorities of religion or belief in domestic and international fora, and before international institutions such as the European Court of Human Rights, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the European Union, and the United Nations. She has also published numerous scholarly articles on freedom of religion or belief.
