LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The constitution provides for freedom of religion, requires the state to refrain from religious education or any other religious activity, prohibits compelling any person to take part in any religious practice, and bans expending and appropriating public money or other property for the use, benefit, or maintenance of any religious institution. It does not allow religious organizations to exercise political authority or receive privileges from the state. According to the government’s interpretation, the constitution allows an individual belonging to a political party backed by a religious organization to hold public office involving national political affairs, provided the individual and the religious organization are legally two separate entities and the individual does not act as a religious representative during his or her time in office. Religious organizations are also allowed to lobby and campaign for politicians and express political opinions publicly. The constitution states that the people shall not abuse constitutional freedoms and rights and shall be responsible to use these freedoms and rights for the public welfare.

The law prevents organizations (religious or otherwise) from engaging in “unfair” solicitation of donations and from requesting donors to use real estate or other assets as collateral to procure funds for donations. The law provides relief for individuals and their families financially damaged by such organizations by allowing them to recoup donations and cancel contracts. The law prohibits organizations from soliciting donations by “unfair” means, including restricting freedom of movement or obstructing consultation with family or outside groups. The law calls for imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to ¥10 million ($71,000), or both for repeat violations. The law also extends the time during which individuals and their families may be reimbursed for donations or cancel contracts deemed unfair from five years to 10 years.

The law does not require religious groups to register or apply for certification, but it exempts government-certified religious groups with corporate status from paying income tax on donations and religious offerings used as part of their operational and maintenance expenses. The law requires religious groups applying for corporate status to prove they have a physical space for worship and that their primary purpose is disseminating religious teachings, conducting religious ceremonies, and educating and nurturing believers. An applicant must present, in writing, a three-year record of activities as a religious organization, a list of members and religious teachers, the rules of the organization, information about the method of making decisions on managing assets, statements of income and expenses for the past three years, and a list of assets. The law stipulates prefectural governors have jurisdiction over groups seeking corporate status in their respective prefecture, and that groups must apply for registration with prefectural governments. Exceptions are granted for groups with offices in multiple prefectures, which they may register with MEXT. After the MEXT minister or a prefectural governor confirms an applicant meets the legal definition of a certified religious group with corporate status, the law requires the applicant to formulate administrative rules pertaining to its purpose, core personnel, and financial affairs. An applicant becomes a religious corporation only after the MEXT minister or governor approves its application and the applicant subsequently registers.

The law requires certified religious corporations to disclose their assets, income, and expenditures to the government. The law also authorizes the government to investigate possible violations of regulations governing for-profit activities. Authorities have the right to suspend a religious corporation’s for-profit activities for up to one year if the group violates the regulations.

Under the “right of inquiry” provision of the Religious Corporation Act, the government may investigate religious corporations suspected of committing acts that are illegal or are deemed to clearly harm the public welfare. A court may order the dissolution of a religious corporation, consequently revoking its corporate status and tax benefits, if the court finds the corporation has committed such acts. After dissolution, the law does not hinder a religious group from continuing to practice its religion as a noncorporate entity.

The law stipulates that worship and religious rituals performed by inmates in penal institutions, alone or in a group, shall not be prohibited. The MOJ offers inmates access to volunteer chaplains from various faiths in prisons.

The law states schools established by the national and local governments must refrain from religious education or other activities in support of a specific religion. Private schools are permitted to teach specific religions. The law also states an attitude of religious tolerance and general knowledge regarding religion and its position in social life should be valued in education. Both public and private schools must develop curricula in line with MEXT standards. These standards are based on the law, which states that schools should give careful consideration when teaching religion in general to junior high and high school students.

Labor law states a person may not be disqualified from union membership based on religion.

The country is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

GOVERNMENT PRACTICES

On October 13, the Tokyo District Court officially accepted a request submitted by MEXT to order the revocation of legal corporate status for the Family Federation in order to “dissolve” the church as a statutory term. On October 12, MEXT Minister Moriyama stated the request was based on the church’s responses to questions regarding its activities and on interviews the National Network of Lawyers against Spiritual Sales conducted with 170 individuals who allegedly suffered financial damages caused by the church. Minister Moriyama said MEXT found the church had systematically continued violating civil law since 1980 by collecting large sums of money in the form of donations and encouraging expensive purchases by a considerable number of its followers in situations that prevented them from making decisions with free will. Minister Moriyama said the church had committed these acts as a corporate organization and caused the followers and their family members enormous financial and mental damages. He cited 32 civilian lawsuits in which the church paid ¥2.2 billion ($15.5 million) in damages to 169 plaintiffs, as well as additional settlements in and outside court involving 1,550 victims totaling ¥20.4 billion ($144.2 million). He said the church had met statutory conditions for dissolution, as MEXT judged the church’s acts were “clearly found to harm public welfare substantially” and had “deviated substantially from the purpose of a religious organization prescribed” in the law, the dissemination of religious teachings, the conduct of ceremonies and functions, and the education and nurture of believers. On October 12, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio stated MEXT’s dissolution request was based on “objective facts under law.”

This was the government’s first request to dissolve a religious corporation on the basis of a violation of civil law. In a Diet session in 2022, Prime Minister Kishida said the government had previously interpreted a violation of criminal law as a prerequisite for requesting the dissolution of a religious corporation. This interpretation was based on a 1996 court decision, which ordered the dissolution of the group Aum Shinrikyo for systematically producing the chemical agent sarin for mass murder in violation of criminal law. He said that upon further discussion, the government determined it should request dissolution on a case-by-case basis. As a result, the government interpreted it was possible to include a violation of civil law as a prerequisite for requesting the dissolution provided the government found a religious corporation’s acts were systematic, malicious, and continuous. Minister Moriyama publicly stated MEXT concluded the Family Federation’s acts were systematic, malicious, and continuous and submitted the request for the dissolution with the unanimous endorsement of the MEXT advisory council of religious and legal experts.

On October 16, the Family Federation released a public statement opposing the dissolution, saying the grounds MEXT presented for requesting the dissolution were not in accordance with law. A lawyer for the church criticized the dissolution order for not specifying what laws were violated and said the church would fight the order in court. On November 7, the president of the Japanese branch of the Family Federation, Tanaka Tomihiro, made the first public apology by a top church official since a man with a grievance against the church assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo in 2022, which was a catalyst in renewing scrutiny of the church. During the news conference, Tanaka confirmed that the church intended to fight the government’s dissolution order based on the “viewpoint of freedom of religion and the rule of law.”

On December 13, the Diet enacted a bill to financially assist victims seeking compensation for damages from a religious organization whose corporate status was a subject to a court’s deliberation on whether to remove its tax-exempt status; to report to the government one month in advance any disposal of real estate; and to submit a list of its assets every three months. While the bill did not specifically name the Family Federation, it contained a provision stating it should not be interpreted as authorizing MEXT or any prefectural governor to interfere in the faith of religious organizations with corporate status.

On July 3, a group of international human rights activists published Why Japan Should Guarantee Religious Liberty to the Unification Church/Family Federation: A Letter to the Government. The group called for an end to what it referred to as a witch hunt against a minority religion.

International lawyer Nakayama Tatsuki stated in a September booklet that the country’s government, led by Prime Minister Kishida, was not following the 1951 Religious Corporations Act but appeared to be “practicing politics.” Nakayama noted only two other religious organizations had been dissolved, both times following the criminal convictions of their leaders, and that several other organizations continued to exist even after such convictions.

Children of certain Family Federation and Jehovah’s Witnesses members stated at 2022 Diet hearings that the Family Federation and Jehovah’s Witnesses violated religious freedom by using force to compel minors (younger children and teenagers of their members) to participate in Family Federation and Jehovah’s Witnesses practices. Jehovah’s Witnesses officials stated that church members do not force children to adopt their faith and that “unbalanced” media coverage perpetuated dangerous stereotypes founded on inaccurate and distorted claims made by former associates.

Uyghur Muslims continued to report that individuals connected with the PRC government attempted to intimidate Uyghur Muslims residing in Japan by surveilling their relatives in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, especially in Kashgar Prefecture, and implying risks to the relatives’ safety. URSF board chairperson Ilham Mahmut said the PRC’s intimidation prevented communication between many Uyghur Muslim residents in Japan and their families in Xinjiang. He said the Japanese government continued to generally show willingness to protect Uyghur Muslims in the country, noting that the government did not deport any Uyghur Muslims to the PRC during the year.

On October 30-31, the Japan-Uyghur Parliamentary Caucus (JUPC) and the Japanese parliamentary caucus, in coordination with the World Uyghur Congress and JUA, hosted the second International Uyghur Forum. More than 150 parliamentarians, civil society members, and Uyghur survivors of PRC repression from North America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region, including Taiwan, discussed challenges to promoting religious freedom and protections for members of religious minorities globally, international responses to human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang and other regions of China, and threats to peace and security in the region.

According to the Japanese Falun Dafa Association president, the PRC Consulate General in Japan tried to obstruct Shen Yun Performing Arts (Falun Dafa’s performance company) from resuming theater performances in Japan during the year, following a hiatus due to COVID-19. In December, the PRC Consulate General sent one theater a letter disparaging the Falun Gong and requested the theater reconsider providing a venue for Shen Yun performances. After receiving a report of the letter, police provided security to prevent interference with performances in the theater. No visible interference occurred. The Falun Dafa Association president said local authorities continued to grant permits for the association’s street marches opposing the PRC’s repression against Falun Gong practitioners, including the marches in April in Tokyo, May in Yokohama, and July in Osaka and Kyoto.

The MOJ’s Human Rights Bureau continued to operate its hotline for human rights inquiries, available during the year in Japanese, English, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Nepali, Spanish, Indonesian, and Thai. In May, the MOJ reported that in 2022 (latest statistics available) its human rights division confirmed five cases were “highly likely” to have been religious freedom violations, compared with five such cases in 2021. The MOJ assisted the potential victims in all five cases by mediating between the parties, calling on alleged human rights violators to rectify their behavior, or referring the complainants to competent authorities for legal advice. These MOJ measures, however, were not legally binding.

According to the ACA, as of the end of 2021, the most recent year for which statistics were available, central and prefectural governments had certified 179,952 groups as religious groups with corporate status, compared with 180,544 such groups at the end of 2020. The large number reflected the fact that many local units of religious groups registered separately. The government generally certified corporate status for religious groups when they met the requirements.

NGOs continued to express concern regarding the government’s interpretation of the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its protocol, which resulted in a low rate of approval of refugee applications.

According to press reports, the Immigration Services Agency continued to not serve halal food to Muslim detainees. However, a local store near the Nagoya detention center provided halal products for sale.