Japan

Religious Freedom World Report

Japan

After the experience of the pre-World War II period in which Shintoism and the belief in the divinity of the emperor were a factor in the increasing militarism and nationalism arising in Japan, the Japanese Constitution of 1947 declared that freedom of thought and conscience shall not be violated and guarantees freedom of religion to all. Participation by religious groups in politics was forbidden and the state was forbidden from taking part in religious education. In 1951, the Religious Corporation Act allowed any religious organization to register with local or national authorities as a religious corporation in order to receive tax exemption. The act also contained a provision in Article 86 stipulating that a court may disband a religious corporation if it is found that it had substantially deviated from religious activities or that it posed a threat to the public.

The terrifying experience of Aum Shinrikyo releasing gas bombs in the subways in 1995, embarrassed the Japanese government and moved them to pass a 1996 amendment to the Religious Corporation Act. This amendment places the oversight of religious corporations under the oversight of the Ministry of Education (Monbusho) and allows the Monbusho to request detailed financial reports from religious organizations. The Monbusho is empowered to review not only finances but membership, programs and activities. The amendment also allows any person adversely affected by members of a religious group to request a review of financial or other documents, and places the power to disband any religious corporation in the hands of the Monbusho.

As of 2001, the Cultural Affairs agency listed 182,935 religious organizations of which the government believes that as many as 5000 may be dormant. Since 1998 the courts have dissolved three such organizations at the request of the authorities.

Aum Shinrikyo, which was renamed Aleph in February 2000, has remained under government surveillance since 1996. A 1999 law targeting Aum Shinrikyo empowered the authorities to monitor and inspect facilities of groups that have "engaged in mass murder during the past ten years." Under the law, Aum is required to file a report every three months detailing names and addresses of members. The organization, which claimed a membership of over 10,000 in 1995, has dwindled to about 2000 members. Shoko Asahara, Aum's leader, was sentenced to death in February 2004 for his role in the sarin subway attacks.

Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist organization, has alleged that the true purpose of the 1996 legislation is to weaken Shinshinto, the leading opposition party, which is an ally of Soka Gakkai. As evidence of this they point to a statement by Kamei Shizuka on October 22, 1995, that “the purpose of the Religious Corporation Law is to take measures against the Soka Gokkai.”

Several Japan experts and opinion leaders have expressed apprehension that the expansion of state power in the amendment to the Religious Corporation Law may erode Japan’s commitment to religious freedom. Critics of the amendment argue that a more appropriate response to the Aum Shinrikyo attack would have been to improve Japan’s anti-terrorism security and to utilize provisions that already exist to prosecute cases of criminal or terrorist activity. The new amendment went into effect on September 15, 1996.

The so-called "anti-cult movement" has been active in Japan. the anti-cult movement characterizes commitment to a new religious movement outside the mainstream as a modern day mental illness. Preying on the fears generated by the Aum Shinrikyo attack, "deprogrammers" contract with family members of converts to new religious movements arranging to kidnap these converts and break their faith. The Unification Church has been plagued by deprogramming since the mid 1980's. In recent years, there have been as many as 300 kidnappings a years. Kidnapped members are held prisoner and harangued by ministers, counselors and former members in an effort to induce them to recant their faith. Some members have been imprisoned for as long as three years. The police have been unsympathetic to the plight of members of new religious movements held against their will. There are several reasons for this. First of all, many in the police and government agencies have been influenced by the misinformation of the deprogrammers which has been spread in sensational articles in the media. Secondly, the police say that they do not want to become involved in disputes between parents and children, even when those children are adult citizens being held in captivity against their will. In some cases, adult members who have escaped and gone to the police for help have been returned to their captors by the police. Thirdly, the police do not want to become involved in disputes over religious issues. In spite of complaints to the Japanese Civil Liberties Commission and Ministry of Justice, these agencies have have taken no steps to investigate the abuse of rights and criminal actions of the deprogrammers.

In addition, the scare concerning cults has also given rise to a large number of law suits supported by the anti-cult network. The Unification Church in particular has had 128 suits filed against it. On March 26, 1998, The Nagoya District Court rejected a 60 million yen damages suit filed by a group of former Unification Church followers alleging "mind control." Residing Judge Tatsuki Inada said the plaintiffs, a group of six women in their 30s from Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, "made their own decisions to engage in activities of the church after finding a religious meaning in doing so." He further found that the activities of the Unification church do not in any way deviate form social acceptability, nor do they constitute any wrongful or unconstitutional conduct.

Japan has also barred Reverend Moon form entering the country, thus preventing members of the Unification Church from meeting with the founder and leader of their church.

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