Only 8% of religious group followers' kids back gov't remedy steps

Only 8 percent of "second-generation" members of religious groups such as the Unification Church in Japan feel the government's measures to protect them, which include banning maliciously solicited donations, are sufficient, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday.

Their plight has garnered attention since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated on July 8, 2022, by a man claiming to hold a grudge against the controversial group due to his mother making financially ruinous donations to them.

In the wake of the incident, the Japanese parliament enacted a law in December 2022 to tighten rules on fundraising practices by religious organizations that included imposing penalties on members involved in exploitative solicitations.

In the survey, conducted in May and June with responses from 120 family members of avid followers of the Unification Church, Jehovah's Witnesses and other religious groups, 89 percent said they had been abused by their families and other relatives.

The survey also showed that 72 percent of respondents experienced hardship from people outside their families because of their faith, such as being bullied at school or denied access to higher education, underscoring a lack of adequate relief measures for them.

Many respondents called for a ban on compelling minors to join a religious group or engage in related activities to better address the dangers faced by the children, saying their decision-making abilities are not yet fully developed.

They also urged the public and private sectors to prevent minors from being forced into unwanted activities, provide psychological care, create a consultation system and offer financial support for those without family support after they leave such organizations.

Currently, spouses and dependent children of donors are allowed to cancel contributions on their behalf through legal procedures if donations are made in ways prohibited under the law, which went into effect in January 2023.

In the survey, many respondents complained that the law does not supply full relief to the followers' children who still face long-term economic, social and emotional problems resulting from abuse or having their access to higher education and employment obstructed.

A total of 107 out of the 120 respondents said they had been abused by their families. Examples are forced adherence to faiths through threats of not paying school fees, restrictions imposed on who they can marry, physical violence, bloodshed, and whipping.

Tetsuya Yamagami, who has been indicted over the fatal shooting of Abe, told investigators that he targeted the former premier as his grandfather, former Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi, helped bring the Unification Church to Japan in the 1960s.

The Kyodo News survey collected responses from people with parents as followers from their 10s to 60s through organizations that support them, using questionnaires.

© KYODO