Unification Church

==== Civil lawsuits against Japanese critics and government ====
The Unification Church, its followers and associated organizations have filed a series of lawsuits against Japanese broadcasting stations, lawyers, journalists and former believer who publicly discussed on issues such as fundraising and proselyting practices of the church. These issues came under heavy scrutiny as the ties between the church and Japanese politicians were exposed following Abe's assassination.The [[Toyama (city)|Toyama]] City Council was targeted for declaring the severance of any ties with the church.

Defendants perceived these lawsuits as [[strategic lawsuits against public participation]] (SLAPP) aimed at stifling discussions that could be detrimental to the church.<ref name="SDP 2023 0728">{{Citation
|url=https://sdp.or.jp/sdp-paper/slapp-2/
|script-title=ja:統一教会がスラップ連発～問われる日本の民主主義 
|trans-title=
|work=[[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|Social Democratic Party]]
|date=2023-07-28
|access-date=2023-10-21
|language=ja
}}</ref><ref>{{Citation
|url=https://www.mbs.jp/news/feature/specialist/article/2023/10/097119.shtml
|script-title=ja:【旧統一教会】鈴木エイト氏"資金移転"を解説「現金100万円までは申告不要...すでに韓国渡航が促されたという情報も」教団から訴訟された現状も明かす 政府は解散命令請求を決定 
|trans-title=
|work=[[MBS News]]
|date=2023-10-12
|access-date=2023-10-21
|language=ja
}}</ref><ref name="nikkan gendai 2023 1005 upf suzuki" />

{| class="wikitable"
|+List of lawsuits
!Case!!<abbr title="year-month-day">Filing date</abbr>!!Complaint!!Demands!!Verdict
|-
|''Unification Church v. Yomiuri TV & Masaki Kito''<ref name="nikkansports 2023 0213 kito">{{Citation
|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/general/nikkan/news/202302130001261.html
|script-title=ja:紀藤弁護士「すぐに取り下げるべき」旧統一教会が計2200万円の損賠賠償を求めた裁判始まる
|trans-title=
|work=[[Nikkan Sports]]
|date=2023-02-13
|access-date=2023-10-22
|language=ja
}}</ref><ref name="nikkansports 2022 0929">{{Citation
|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/general/nikkan/news/202209290000578.html
|script-title=ja:旧統一教会が提訴「ミヤネ屋」の紀藤弁護士、本村弁護士「ひるおび」の八代弁護士らを名誉棄損で
|trans-title=
|work=[[Nikkan Sports]]
|date=2022-09-29
|access-date=2023-10-22
|language=ja
}}</ref>
| rowspan="3" |2022-09-29
|[[Masaki Kito|Kito]]'s statement about "female believers being forced into prostitution after the founder's death" aired by [[Yomiuri TV]] on 20 July 2022.
| rowspan="4" |22 million yen and public apology
|
|-
|''Unification Church v. Yomiuri TV & Kentarō Motomura''<ref name="nikkansports 2022 0929" />
|{{ill|Kentarō Motomura{{!}}Motomura|ja|本村健太郎}}'s statement which accused the church of "illegal proselyting practices" aired by Yomiuri TV on 2 September 2022.
|Dismissed on 25 January 2024<ref>{{Citation
|url=https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/962091?display=1
|script-title=ja:旧統一教会の訴え棄却 読売テレビ「ミヤネ屋」側訴えた裁判で東京地裁
|trans-title=
|work=[[TBS News]]
|date=2024-01-25
|access-date=2024-01-26
|language=ja
}}</ref>
|-
|''Unification Church v. TBS TV & Hideki Yashiro''<ref name="nikkansports 2022 0929" />
|{{ill|Hideki Yashiro{{!}}Yashiro|ja|八代英輝}}'s statement which accused the church of "causing numerous consumer disputes" aired by [[TBS TV]] on 1 September 2022.
|Dismissed on 30 June 2023<ref>{{Citation
|url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASR6Y6QW8R6VUTIL014.html
|script-title=ja:旧統一教会の請求棄却 TV番組での弁護士発言めぐる訴訟 東京地裁
|trans-title=
|work=[[Asahi Shimbun]]
|date=2023-06-30
|access-date=2023-10-21
|language=ja
}}</ref>
|-
|''Unification Church v. Nippon TV & Yoshifu Arita''<ref name="nikkansports 2023 0516 arita">{{Citation
|url=https://www.nikkansports.com/general/nikkan/news/202305160000975.html
|script-title=ja:有田芳生氏「反社会性を徹底的に明らかにしていく」旧統一教会が損害賠償求めた裁判始まる
|trans-title=
|work=[[Nikkan Sports]]
|date=2023-05-16
|access-date=2023-10-22
|language=ja
}}</ref><ref name="mainichi 2022 1027">{{Citation
|url=https://mainichi.jp/articles/20221026/k00/00m/040/355000c
|script-title=ja:旧統一教会が日テレとTBSラジオ提訴 番組出演者発言「名誉毀損」
|trans-title=
|work=[[Mainichi Shimbun]]
|date=2022-10-27
|access-date=2023-10-22
|language=ja
}}</ref>
| rowspan="2" |2022-10-27
|[[Yoshifu Arita|Arita]]'s statement which accused the church of "anti-social organization for [[spiritual sales]]" aired by [[Nippon TV]] on 19 August 2022.
|
|-
|''Unification Church v. TBS Radio & Masaki Kito''<ref name="mainichi 2022 1027" />
|Kito's statement which accused the church of "faking own followers deprogrammed by violent group" broadcast by [[TBS Radio]] on 9 September 2022.
|11 million yen and public apology
|
|-
|''Unification Church v. Noriko Ishigaki''<ref name="ogawa 2023 0914">{{citation|url=https://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/articles/-/1223050|script-title=ja:元２世信者への教団反論を却下 東京地裁「名誉毀損成立しない」|trans-title=Church's demand against former believer dismissed by court|work=[[Kyodo News]]|publisher=[[Okinawa Times]]|date=2023-09-14|access-date=2023-10-22|language=ja}}</ref>
|2022-11
|[[Sayuri Ogawa]]'s statement about "her parents donated large sum of money for the church" during a hearing with the [[Constitutional Democratic Party (Japan)|Constitutional Democratic Party]] published online by lawmaker [[Noriko Ishigaki]] in November 2022. (The case was nominally against Ishigaki, but in fact targeted Ogawa, the former follower turned critic and activist against the church.)<ref name="iwj 2023 0930">{{Citation
|url=https://iwj.co.jp/wj/open/archives/518753
|script-title=ja:統一教会の解散命令請求を目前に！ 被害者救済を妨げる資産流出や隠匿を防ぐ財産保全「特別措置法」の今国会成立を求める「声明」を発表！～9.30 全国弁連東京集会 ―内容：「統一教会の解散請求と財産保全、内部の実情、二世問題について」ほか 
|trans-title=
|work=Independent Web Journal
|date=2023-09-30
|access-date=2023-10-22
|language=ja
|quote=山口貴士弁護士が、石垣のりこ参議院議員（実質的には二世の小川さゆりさん）を対象としたスラップ訴訟を報告
}}</ref>
|Delete the published video
|Dismissed by the high court in August 2023<ref name="ogawa 2023 0914" />
|-
|''Makoto Yasuda v. Toyama City''<ref name="nhk 2023 0313 toyama">{{Citation
|url=https://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/toyama/20230313/3060012832.html
|script-title=ja:富山市議会の旧統一教会と断絶決議 取消訴訟
|trans-title=
|work=[[NHK]]
|date=2023-03-13
|access-date=2023-10-21
|language=ja
}}</ref>
|2022-12-16
| rowspan="2" |[[Toyama City]] Council passed the resolution of severing ties to the Unification Church and its associated organizations in September 2022. (Yasuda is the pseudonym of a Unification Church follower living in Toyama. "Toyama Prefecture Peace Ambassadors Council" is managed by a PR officer for the church.)
|3.5 million yen and rollback of the resolution
|
|-
|''Toyama Prefecture Peace Ambassadors Council v. Toyama City''<ref name="sankei 2023 0801">{{Citation
|url=https://www.sankei.com/article/20230801-ZPG4HWEEAJJOZDEEU473K6QBAE/
|script-title=ja:「断絶決議は名誉毀損」 旧統一教会が富山市を提訴
|trans-title=
|work=[[Sankei Shimbun]]
|date=2023-08-01
|access-date=2023-10-21
|language=ja
}}</ref>
|2023-08-01
|22 million yen
|
|-
|<abbr title="Official Japanese case title: '宗教ヘイト等損害賠償 令和５年（ワ）第１６８１８号', lit. 'Damages Over Hate Crime Against Religion etc. 2023 (general) 16818'">''Women's Federation For World Peace v. Zenkoku Benren Seven''</abbr><ref name="asahi 2023 0704 wfwp">{{Citation
|url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASR745171R73UTIL01G.html
|script-title=ja:旧統一教会の友好団体、霊感商法対策の弁護士らを提訴
|trans-title=
|work=[[Asahi Shimbun]]
|date=2023-07-04
|access-date=2023-10-21
|language=ja
}}</ref>
|2023-07-03
|Seven lawyers with [[Zenkoku Benren]], namely Masaki Kito, Keiichi Hiraiwa, {{ill|Masaki Gorō (lawyer){{!}}Masaki Gorō|ja|郷路征記}}, Shūji Nakamura, {{ill|Hidemasa Kawada|ja|河田英正}}, {{ill|Hiroshi Yamaguchi|ja|山口広}}, and Yasuo Kawai, lobbied Japanese municipal governments to deny public venues for [[Women's Federation For World Peace]] on 15 June 2023.
|33 million yen
|
|-
|''Toru Gotō v. Eito Suzuki''<ref name="sankei 2023 1004 goto suzuki">{{Citation
|url=https://www.sankei.com/article/20231004-TA6Z2NOHMBJKXBXCWB4ZHXRM3A/
|script-title=ja:信者がジャーナリスト提訴 旧統一教会、「名誉毀損」
|trans-title=
|work=[[Sankei Shimbun]]
|date=2023-10-04
|access-date=2023-10-22
|language=ja
}}</ref>
| rowspan="2" |2023-10-04
|[[Eito Suzuki|Suzuki]]'s statement about "Toru Gotō being a [[hikikomori]]" published on social media. (Gotō was unsuccessfully [[deprogramming|deprogrammed]] from the Unification Church by his family.)
|11 million yen and delete the online post
|
|-
|''Universal Peace Federation v. Eito Suzuki''<ref name="nikkan gendai 2023 1005 upf suzuki">{{Citation
|url=https://www.nikkan-gendai.com/articles/view/life/330135
|script-title=ja:旧統一教会が繰り出す「訴訟連発」と「メディア抗議」の本当の狙い…友好団体が鈴木エイト氏を提訴
|trans-title=
|work=[[Nikkan Gendai]]
|date=2023-10-05
|access-date=2023-10-22
|language=ja
}}</ref>
|Suzuki's statement about "Shinzo Abe getting paid for his 2021 video speech at an event by the [[Universal Peace Federation]] (UPF)". (UPF claimed that they did not pay Abe's 2021 video speech, while admitting that [[Donald Trump]], who also gave the video speech at the same event, was indeed paid.)<ref>{{Citation|url=https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20231026/p2a/00m/0na/003000c|title=Unification Church-linked group paid Trump $2.5 mil. for video messages: Mainichi exclusive|work=[[Mainichi Shimbun]]|date=2023-10-26|access-date=2023-10-27}}</ref>
|11 million yen
|
|}