The Tamesis
March 5, 2026
Tokyo – The Tokyo High Court on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling ordering the dissolution of the World Federation of Family Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), which focused on the scale of the damage caused by its systematic and illegal fundraising.
According to the latest ruling, the order has taken effect, the church has lost its status as a religious legal person and asset liquidation procedures will be initiated.
Presiding judge Miki Motoko said in the ruling: “The illegal behavior of members of this church is extremely egregious in nature and the consequences are very serious. It is impossible for this organization to take the initiative to take effective countermeasures and can only disband.”
There have been two previous examples of Japanese religious groups being ordered to disband – Aum Shinrikyo and the Myokakuji group. However, both groups were disbanded due to alleged criminal behavior by their leadership. The Unification Church ruling is the first time a dissolution order has been issued against a religious company for violating the Civil Code.
The “Religious Groups Law” stipulates that if the court finds that “a religious group violates laws and regulations and has behaviors that are obviously harmful to public interests,” it can order the dissolution of the religious group.
After former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead in July 2022, the huge donations raised by the church attracted attention.
In October 2023, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology submitted a request for a church dissolution order. The Tokyo District Court issued the requested order in March last year. The church immediately appealed the ruling.
In its ruling, the district court noted that the church collected approximately 20.4 billion yen from victims over approximately 40 years starting around 1980, based on civil court rulings recognizing the organization’s liability for damages and out-of-court settlements reached between the victims and the church.
The district court said that even after the church declared full compliance in 2009, complaints of wrongdoing continued and the risk of similar harm continued.
At High Court hearing, church criticized lower court decision, insisting court ‘exaggerated’ [their] illegal act” because of the 20.4 billion yen figure, approximately 18.6 billion yen were private and court-mediated settlements.
The group noted that since last fall it has reached mediation agreements with former church members and others, agreed to pay more than 3.9 billion yen, and established a compensation committee made up of outsiders including lawyers to handle the issues. “There is no such risk [the organization] Any further misconduct related to the donation would be committed and there would be no grounds for an order of dissolution,” the church argued.
The High Court ruling gave effect to the dissolution order, depriving the church of its religious legal personality and tax benefits.
A liquidator appointed by the District Court will oversee the dissolution process. Liquidators will manage the church’s assets, estimated at 118.1 billion yen, through the end of fiscal 2022 and use them to compensate victims.
Even after the dissolution order, church members can continue their religious activities by joining private organizations and other means.
After the high court’s ruling, the church issued a statement saying it was an “unjust ruling based on a predetermined conclusion and lacked the support of facts and evidence.”
“We will never accept this unfair judicial decision and will continue to fight, including filing extraordinary appeals, to defend our religious freedoms,” the statement said.
The liquidation process will continue even if the church files an extraordinary appeal against the ruling to the Supreme Court. However, if the dissolution order is overturned, the process will stop, allowing the church to once again engage in activities as a religious legal person.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said at a press conference on Wednesday, “We believe that this ruling means that the government’s position has been accepted.” He also said that relevant ministries and agencies have been instructed to conscientiously implement disaster relief measures.
