The extraordinary Diet passed a bill (Kyuusai-shinpou) regulating unscrupulous solicitation of donations by religious and other groups on Dec. 10.
The bill states the obligation to not suppress one’s free will during solicitation of donations and to not lead the family into poverty, and bans and punishes unscrupulous solicitation such as confusing the donator and interfering with counseling. The bill includes not only the victim’s right to cancel donation but also the family’s right to retrieve the money back from the group within their right to be supported economically as a partner or a child.
The bill was passed in response to the terrible reality of the families making large donations to the religious group, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU). After the former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead during a public speech, awareness about the victims and their families who have had their living destroyed by the large donations made to FFWPU was raised, and the ruling party, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) member’s special relationships with FFWPU became clear. To address the issues with making large donations, with opposition parties’ demands, the government-drafted bill was modified and was passed just as the Diet closed on Dec. 10.
Although the Prime Minister Fumio Kishida emphasized the achievements of the Diet, Sayuri Ogawa who is a former second generation of the FFWPU believer says, “This Bill’s biggest problem is that realistically, children won’t be protected with this bill.”. The bill needs to be re-evaluated as it gets carried out, and the LDP still definitely need to ascertain the relationships between the LDP and FFWPU.
References
・"救済新法が成立", Asahi Shinbun, 11/12/2022.
・"Diet closes, and Kishida blows chance to regain public trust", Asahi Shinbun, 12/12/2022.
・“「被害拡大の張本人が動かず、声上げた」 小川さゆりさん、陳述全文, Asahi Shinbun, 9/12/2022.
・“旧統一教会の被害者救済法成立 不当な寄付勧誘に罰則”, Nihon Keizai Shinbun, 10/12/2022.
Comments