Japan government panel to decide whether to ask court to revoke legal status of Unification Church

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government is convening a religious affairs council on Thursday to ask experts to decide whether to seek a court order to revoke the legal status of the Unification Church. The church's fundraising tactics and cozy ties with the governing party have triggered public outrage.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government has taken tough stance in a perceived move to shore up support, hurt by his governing Liberal Democratic party's decades-long ties with the South Korea-based church that surfaced in the investigation of former leader Shinzo Abe’s 2022 assassination.

The alleged Abe killer told police that his motive was the former prime minister’s link to the church that had bankrupted his family due to his mother’s excessive donations.

Education Minister Masahito Moriyama told experts on the panel in his opening remarks that his ministry, if endorsed by the panel, hopes to file for a court approval to strip the church's legal status.