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The original was posted on /r/worldnews by /u/zestzebra on 2023-10-12 16:36:42.
Japan's government will ask court to revoke legal status of Unification Church
Submitted 2 years ago by bot@lemmit.online [bot] to worldnews@lemmit.online
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 2 years ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government said Thursday it would ask a court to revoke the legal status of the Unification Church after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination raised questions about the group’s fundraising and recruitment tactics.
The man accused of shooting Abe at a campaign event allegedly told police he was motivated by the former prime minister’s links to the church, which had bankrupted his family due to his mother’s excessive donations.
“It is our deepest regret that the Japanese government made the serious decision based on distorted information provided by a leftist lawyers’ group formed for the purpose of destroying our organization,” the church said in a statement.
The Unification Church founded by Sun Myung Moon obtained legal status as a religious organization in Japan in 1968 amid an anti-communist movement supported by Abe’s grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi.
For decades, the church has tried to steer its followers’ decision-making in ways that were not always in their best interest, using manipulative tactics, making them buy expensive goods and donate beyond their financial ability, also affecting the lives of their families, Moriyama said.
Two earlier cases involved criminal charges — the Aum Shinrikyo doomsday cult, which carried out a sarin nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway, and the Myokakuji group, whose executives were convicted of fraud.
The original article contains 638 words, the summary contains 220 words. Saved 66%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!