The following article was received by International Coalition for Religious Freedom from Japan

Unification Church of Japan wins Church Attack Case: Tottori district court ordered penalty to the invaders

Sekai Nippo (the World Daily News-Japan) published on 10.8.99

Translated by Norishige Kondo

The UC-J and four of its members, including the church staff, filed civil law suits against invaders (family of a member) who attacked the Tottori UC-J, demanding to pay for the damages caused by invasion, destroying the church property, disturbing the church activities, and injuring the members. The Tottori district court ordered the defendants to pay \430000 on 7th (announced by the chief judge Yoshifumi Ichitani).

According to the judgement, the defendants invaded the Tottori Church of the UC-J with more than 10 males in order to kidnap and deprogram a member (31 years old), a daughter of one of the invaders. The intruders broke the door window, injured the church staffs and members who tried to help her, and carried her out.

The written documents submitted by the plaintiffs say as follows:

The female believer joined UC-J around August 1992, but her parents opposed her faith strongly and confined her once in 1994. Her family continued to oppose her membership even after the first confinement. She and her mother agreed to have a meeting in Tottori Church on 6.7.97, but during the discussion, about 20 males including her father and her younger brother invaded the church, kidnapped her, and fled in cars. She was confined for about one year and three months and compelled to renounce her affiliation by defendants.

The Public Relations Director of UC-J, issued the following comment after the case was decided:

"We are satisfied with the judgement which affirms our claims. The court issued order by considering the thorough plan and brutal aspects of the invasion, and we highly estimate the recognition and the decision of the court. Throughout the trials, the court avoided all the claims of the defendants decided that the conducts of the family were illegal. We hope that illegal kidnapping and confinement by family members of believers and compelling renunciation and deprogramming by those who instigate family members will stop as soon as possible."