Deprogrammed ex-members represent the majority of those who sued the Family Federation for damages. Yet, media keep silent on this crucial piece of information.
by Makiko Takita
Article 6 of 6. Read article 1, article 2, article 3, article 4, and article 5.
An interview with Toru Goto (continued)
[Toru Goto continues to tell the story of how he was kidnapped to be deprogrammed and forced to leave the Unification Church. He was confined for twelve years and five months].
“My family completely ignored me. I did not fix a term to end the third hunger strike, but my consciousness began to fade, and my breathing became increasingly labored. My mother was concerned and said to me, ‘It’s time to end it,’ but the confinement did not end. If I continued like this, I might die. Feeling that my life was in danger, I finally gave up after 30 days. But it did not end there. In the past two hunger strikes, food was served at the end of the fasting. This time, however, I was cut off. It was unexpected. My family said, ‘What is wrong with you that you fasted on your own and asked us to serve your food? Are you stupid?’ ‘Continue until you die!’ My heart was completely broken.”
“Finally, food was served. However, the food sanctions in the name of a recovery diet continued. The only food I ate each day was some watery porridge and a sport drink. This continued for another seventy days. My body was emaciated, and I was on the verge of starvation. I couldn’t resist opening the refrigerator and putting mayonnaise, ketchup, and other condiments in the palm of my hand and licking them off a little at a time. After a while, however, even the condiments disappeared from the fridge without a trace. I sometimes looked forward to going to the kitchen and seeing what kind of food scraps had accumulated in the sink disposer. At times, I became even attracted by uncooked rice.”
“Feeling that my life was in danger, I told my family, ‘My body can’t take it if I keep eating like this. Please put me back on a normal diet.’ My brother thought for a moment and said, ‘Well, it’s time for you to go back on it.’ My brother’s wife looked disappointed and said, ‘Oh, I can’t believe it!’ I felt a chill run down my spine.”
“The day of my liberation came suddenly. It was February 10, 2008. It was in the evening when the sun began to set. My brother and his wife, my mother, and my sister all came in and sat down in front of me. The first thing my brother said to me with a stern expression on his face was, ‘Do you have any intention to admit the faults of the Unification Church?’ Everyone was silent. ‘No,’ I said. As if to confirm, my brother said, ‘Are you sure about that?’ and I said ‘Yes.’ Then my brother stared at me, his words getting stronger and more vehement shouting, ‘Then get out of here right now!’ I was so stunned by this sudden turn of events that for a moment I could not understand what my brother was saying. My brother suddenly grabbed me with a terrible look on his face. My brother-in-law, sister, and mother joined in, grabbing me by the torso, arms, and legs, lifting me, carrying me toward the front door, and forcibly pushing me outside. This forced me down on my back onto the concrete hallway. As I lay on my back, unable to get up, my brother shouted, ‘Shoes, shoes,’ and someone threw my leather shoes at me. The front door was closed and locked with a ‘clang.’ In the struggle that ensued, I bled from the back of my hand and wrist, and my sweater was torn. After I was released, I went outside and looked up at the sky. The sky was blue. It was the first blue sky I had seen in a long time, and I was moved.”
“The number of Unification Church believers abducted and imprisoned by the deprogrammers and their families is estimated to be 4,300. Of these, some 3,000 were forced to apostatize. Many of those who have been forced to apostatize, as well as their brothers, sisters, and brothers and sisters-in-law, often harbor hatred toward the church and are driven to the next stage of forced apostasy or conversion by being directed to the lawyers of the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales (National Federation of Bar Associations) and become plaintiffs in court cases. More than half of the plaintiffs in the 22 civil lawsuits (increased to 32 at the time of the request) listed in the request for the dissolution order are former believers who were forced to apostatize. They are sometimes asked to testify about the situation of the church, not in court but in media interviews. Last year, when I was watching TV, my brother and sister who had locked me up appeared and criticized the church. I was surprised.”
“What is more unforgivable is Mr. M. He was invited to the opposition party hearing as an experienced deprogrammer and criticized the Unification Church. When I thought that he was speaking as if nothing had happened, I was so angry.
There have been no lawsuits over donations to the Family Federation since 2016. This may be due to the Declaration of Compliance in 2009, but it may also be because the Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that the kidnapping and confinement of Mr. M and others constituted an illegal act, and I won the case in a civil trial. The methods of Mr. M and others became unacceptable and rapidly went downhill. I believe that the collapse of the scheme to create plaintiffs through deprogramming was the reason for the disappearance of the lawsuits.”
“What I do not understand is that the Agency for Cultural Affairs, with the cooperation of the National Federation of Bar Associations, went on with the procedure for requesting a dissolution order. The public is unaware that, behind the scenes, there is a system in which these human rights violations are rampant, and the plaintiffs and victims who pursue the church continue to be mass-produced. But this is an essential element explaining why so many former believers have arisen to claim damages from the Unification Church.”
“An investigation that only works hand in hand with one party will never allow its system to be exposed or clarified. There is no way that a fair picture of the true nature of the Unification Church will emerge. I deeply resent the emptiness, anger, and unreasonableness of the procedures for requesting a dissolution order that continue to be pursued.”
Conclusion
This month’s special issue of our magazine, “Doubts about the Request for a Dissolution Order,” includes a discussion of the process that led the Cultural Affairs Agency to file a dissolution order request with the Tokyo District Court against the Family Association for World Peace and Unification (Unification Church), and other details that newspapers and TV stations know about but do not report.
If you read it, you will understand the strangeness of the procedure. The other day, a reader called the editorial department of “Seiron” to ask why “Seiron” is defending the Unification Church. Since the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July of last year, this magazine has often featured essays and other articles that have raised issues about the question of the Unification Church, but we have never “defended” it.
Please read our past issues of the magazine to understand this. The journal has consistently questioned a series of procedures by the government against the Unification Church. We would understand if the request for a dissolution order was made after investigation and verification from all angles.
However, as Tsutomu Nishioka and Haruhisa Nakagawa have explained in this special feature [see articles 1 and 2 in this series], the procedures were carried out unilaterally toward the goal of dissolution. Furthermore, this time Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is strongly insisting on the dissolution order. This is clear from the Prime Minister’s communications.
To our horror, no objections have been raised by other religious organizations or religious people. The same is true in the political world. We wonder whether Soka Gakkai, the original parent body of the New Komeito Party, should not think that the dissolution order may create future risks for them too. Does all this mean that other religions are relieved because the government is targeting the Unification Church? I feel a sense of crisis when I see that the whole of Japan is silent on a process trampling freedom of belief and freedom of religion without following the proper procedures and with a political agenda. What leaders of dictatorial regimes fear is people’s inner feelings. That is why they focus their efforts on shattering freedom of religion or belief. Have we lost sight of the preciousness of freedom of belief?