Claiming it is a “front” for the Unification Church, Communists tried to prevent its popular Japanese Speech Contest for Female Foreign Students from taking place in Niigata City.
by Massimo Introvigne
The Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) is an NGO that has enjoyed for more than 25 years general consultative status at the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). The “general consultative status,” which the WFWP received in 1997, is different from the “special consultative status” granted to thousands of NGOs. General consultative status is comparatively rare. It is granted after a thorough investigation, according to the ECOSOC rules, to “fairly large, established international NGOs with a broad geographical reach,” which have offered “substantive and sustained contributions” to the aims of the United Nations in “several fields.”
There is no doubt that the WFWP has been founded in 1992 by the leaders of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, then called the Unification Church, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon and her late husband Reverend Sun Myung Moon. This is by no means concealed and is clearly explained on the web site of the organization. On the other hand, the aim of the WFWP is not to proselytize nor to collect donations for the Family Federation but to empower women internationally through charitable and educational work. The majority of the women involved in WFWP’s activities are not members of the Unification Church. They belong to all religions or to none.
One of the most well-known WFWP activities in Japan is a “Japanese Speech Contest for Female Foreign Students,” awarding prizes to those who have become most proficient in learning Japanese as a foreign language. Again, these popular contests have no religious content, nor are they proselytization activities on behalf of the Unification Church.
One peculiarity of the anti-cult movement in Japan is that its origins in the 1980s are strictly connected with the Japanese Communist Party, which was disturbed by the successful anti-Communist campaigns of the Unification Church and its connected organization International Federation for Victory Over Communism (IFVOC), which played a key role in defeating Communist candidates in elections. The Party vowed to destroy the Unification Church and any organization connected with it. After the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, it believed it finally had an opportunity to achieve its aim, also targeting the WFWP. “Bitter Winter” has interviewed Moriko Hori, President of the WFWP Japan, on the most recent campaign of the Japanese Communist Party against the Japanese Speech Contest for Female Foreign Students.
Q: What is exactly happening with the Speech Contest and what is the role of the Japanese Communist Party in it?
A: “For the past 27 years, WFWP Japan has organized the Japanese Speech Contest for Female Foreign Students. Last year, when “Shimbun Akahata,” the official newspaper of the Japanese Communist Party, published the entire schedule of our speech contests, the anti-cult movement National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales issued a protest statement. They urged local governments and universities to prohibit WFWP from using public facilities. Continuing from last year, the schedules for the WFWP Japanese Speech Contest for Female Foreign Students were published in the “Shimbun Akahata” on May 22, 2024. Subsequently, on July 11, a delegation from the Japanese Communist Party’s Niigata City Assembly visited Niigata City and requested Deputy Mayor Nojima to refrain from renting public facilities to WFWP.”
Q: How did the authorities in Niigata City react?
A: “The deputy mayor responded, ‘The Unification Church is recognized as an organization for which the government has issued a request for a dissolution order, but WFWP is not recognized as an affiliated organization of the Unification Church. Therefore, the city rents out the facilities based on the ordinance.’ Accordingly, WFWP Japan held the Niigata Contest at a public facility on July 21, 2024, as part of the regional competition for the Japanese Speech Contest for Female Foreign Students. The facility director was very friendly and stated that there was no issue with the purpose of the WFWP Speech Contest. This facility has hosted WFWP events for many years, and the director, having observed the Speech Contests, determined that there would be no problem with using the facility.”
Q: We understand that the opponents did not give up, however…
A: “On the day of the event, at around 12:10 p.m., nine individuals claiming to be from a ‘civic group ‘stood with placards blocking the entrance to the venue. The placards read, ‘Mayor, don’t rent public facilities to anti-social groups!!’ ‘Don’t let public facilities be used for the WFWP Japanese Speech Contest for Female Foreign Students!’ and ‘Niigata City should not rent facilities to the WFWP, which is a front organization for the Unification Church!’ Watching the demonstrators, the WFWP staff became worried due to the intense heat and asked one of the demonstrators, ‘It’s very hot, isn’t it?’ In response, the demonstrators shouted, ‘Go back to Korea!’ at our staff. Our staff was shocked and couldn’t understand what it meant. When our staff asked another demonstrator what they opposed about the speech contest, the demonstrators showed no interest in the actual speech contest but said, ‘Spiritual sales are not good.’ [‘Spiritual sales’ is the name given by opponents to the sale of miniature pagodas, seals, and other artifacts believed to bring good luck for prices higher than their intrinsic value by a company owned by members of the Unification Church, a practice that ceased more than 15 years ago]. Furthermore, our staff asked the demonstrator, ‘Which organization did you come from?’ He replied, ‘We are local residents.’ When we tried to take a picture of them, the demonstrators stood in front of the camera with an attitude that seemed to indicate they were about to attack us. The facility staff were also concerned and kept a close watch on the demonstrators.”
Q: Who were these “local residents,” exactly?
A: “The WFWP staff had no choice but to take a picture from behind the protesters. We discovered that on the back of the placards they were holding it was written ‘Japanese Communist Party.’ They were using the reverse side of posters made by the Japanese Communist Party. It became clear that they were not ordinary local citizens but members of the local Communist Party.” They always use the same pattern. First, the “Shinbun Akahata” posts the schedule of the contest. Second, the local JCP members submit protest letters to the local government. Then, the demonstrators come to the actual sight to stage the protest against the WFWP.
Q: How did it end up?
A: “The Communist Party demonstrators dispersed exactly one hour after they began the protest. Since all the protesters were elderly, our staff were concerned that the hot weather might affect their health. Fortunately, after one hour, the main organizer announced, ‘It’s been an hour; it’s over.’ One of the demonstrators exclaimed, ‘Ah, I can finally go home!’ and they all departed. However, after the demonstration, the Japanese Communist Party’s organ paper ‘Shimbun Akahata’ reported on the issue, Communist Party city councilors protested to the local government, and local Communist Party members carried out opposition activities at the venue.”
Q: What was, in your opinion, the ultimate aim of the Communist Party protest?
A: It is unclear whom their demonstration was directed at. The protest ended thirty minutes before the speech contest began, and fewer than twenty people passed by during that time. Moreover, as soon as they arrived, they took photos of themselves protesting and reported to somebody, saying, ‘We’ve sent the pictures.’ They had no interest in the purpose of the speech contest; they were simply following orders to be there at the designated time and place. It is all part of a campaign by the Japanese Communist Party to harass and destroy not only the Family Federation, but all organizations directly or indirectly related to it, including the WFWP.
