Toru Goto was kidnapped to be deprogrammed and confined for twelve years and five months. His story is important to understand the Family Federation case.
Unification Church
The “Seiron Magazine” Report on the Unification Church Case in Japan. 4. An Interview with Massimo Introvigne, Part II
A candid conversation about the role of the media, Japanese scholars, and “apostate” ex-members in exciting Japanese public opinion against the church.
The “Seiron Magazine” Report on the Unification Church Case in Japan. 3. An Interview with Massimo Introvigne, Part I
“Bitter Winter”’s editor discusses with the Japanese magazine the role of the anti-cult ideologists in creating the post-Abe-assassination campaign against the Family Federation.
The “Seiron Magazine” Report on the Unification Church Case in Japan. 2. A Dialogue with a Professor of Ethics and a Christian Theologian, Part II
The conversation with Reverend Nakagawa, President of Japan Christian Theological Institute, and Professor Tsutomu Nishioka from Tokyo Christian University continues, focusing on deprogramming and the devious tactics of anti-cult lawyers.
The “Seiron Magazine” Report on the Unification Church Case in Japan. 1. A Dialogue with a Professor of Ethics and a Christian Theologian, Part I
In its December 2023 issue, the Japanese conservative magazine “Seiron” published an important special issue on the threatened dissolution of the Unification Church. “Bitter Winter” offers its serialized translation.
Japan Proposes Guidelines That Would Artificially Multiply the “Victims” of “Cults”
Under the new draft proposal, a “victim” is a “victim” even if she denies being one, if the anti-cult lawyers or the government says she has been victimized.
Does Japan Have an Independent Judiciary? Implications for the Unification Church Dissolution Case
Scholars have noted that, while proclaimed by the Constitution, the independence of the Japanese judiciary is in fact limited by the government’s role in appointing and promoting judges.
政府が解散請求した宗教法人の資産凍結法案：日本のすべての信仰に対する危機
提出された法案は、直接的には「被害者」と「損害」についての賛否の分かれるデータに基づいて統一教会を標的にしているが、これは将来に暗い影を落とす不公正な原則を確立することになる
日本、宗教、そして統一教会の解散： とある対談
10月1日に東京で開催されたシンポジウムでは、日本と欧米における宗教と「カルト」に対する異なるアプローチという大きな枠組みの中で、この件が議論された。
The Proposed Freezing of Assets of Religious Corporations the Government Seeks to Dissolve: A Danger for All Faiths in Japan
The proposed law immediately targets the Unification Church, based on controversial data about “victims” and “damages,” but establishes an unfair general principle with ominous implications for the future.