The Japanese government is moving ahead to seek a court order to dissolve the Unification Church more than a year after the murder of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that brought the controversial Christian group under intense scrutiny.
The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to dissolve the church as early as mid-October, the Asahi Shimbun reported on Sept 3.
This came after an investigation into the group’s activities following Abe’s assassination on July 8 last year by Tetsuya Yamagami, who allegedly targeted the former premier for his ties with the Church.
Government sources said there is also a plan to call on the Tokyo District Court to levy a fine against the group’s representative director within days as the church, also known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, failed to answer numerous questions related to the church’s alleged shady business practices, the report stated.