Explainer: Why is there opposition to the cremation of Shinzo Abe at government expense, read the dark exploits of the former PM of the church

Tokyo, Even after the political funeral of former Japan PM Shinzo Abe, the anger of the people against the current ruling party is increasing. During the funeral, many people protested outside Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo. After Shinzo Abe’s death, the Japanese were upset because of their relationship with the Unification Church, which openly opposed Abe’s funeral at government expense. From a financial point of view, Japan’s Fumio Kishida government has spent about US$12 million (1.65 billion yen) on Shinzo’s funeral. Seeing the huge expenditure that the current PM is facing, the people’s protest has intensified.

At the same time, Tetsuya Yamagami, the accused who shot Shinzo, told investigators during interrogation that he first wanted to shoot the leader of the Unification Church instead of the former PM, but he could not do so due to Corona. According to Yamagami, his family had become poor because of the Unification Church.

What is Unification Church?
This church is a South Korean religious organization that has been operating in Japan for 41 years. This church is officially known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Reunification and is derogatorily referred to as ‘The Moonies’. Hak Ja Han Moon, who has been leading the church since the death of founder Myung Moon in 2012, and her husband stopped visiting Japan. According to the attack, Hak Jae Han Moon had no chance of being killed, but decided to target 67-year-old Shinzo Abe, who is most sympathetic to the Unification Church.

Experts say the church’s right-wing beliefs helped it expand overseas during the Cold War. Nobusuke Kishi, Shinzo Abe’s grandfather and Prime Minister of Japan from 1957 to 1960, was a good friend of the church’s founder, Myung Moon, who helped spread the organization in Japan. According to Japanese media, Kishi helped establish the church’s political arm, the International Federation for Victory over Communism in Japan, in 1968. After gaining foothold in the country, the church started weakening the people financially. The church has taken millions of dollars by trapping people. This conservative religious organization is often known to be anti-communist and perform mass marriages.

Looting in church on attack
Yamagami’s relatives in Abe’s murder say that his mother, who was a staunch follower of the church, was also pauped by the church. According to media reports, the church donated about 100 million yen ($692,000) from the murderer’s mother, a large part of which came from life insurance money after her father’s suicide. Dan bankrupted the family and due to which the accused missed out on college as well.

$856 million
According to a report by Al Jazeera, a group of lawyers representing victims of church fraud in Japan said they have 30,000 complainants who have been defrauded by the church for about $856 million. According to the information, the church has made a business empire worth several billion dollars worldwide with this money.

The church owns golf resorts, defense companies and luxury hotels.
According to Britain’s Financial Times, Moon founded a group called Tongil Group in South Korea in 1963. Along with this, the church has made a ski, golf resort, a defense company, a chemical group, a car parts manufacturing company with this money. In the United States, Church’s business empire includes the Washington Times newspaper, the New Yorker Hotel in New York, the True World Foods Seafood Company, and a vast property portfolio.

Ties with Shinzo’s Party
The Unification Church’s links with Shinzo’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have been the reason behind the assassination of the former PM. After his death, when it became public through the media, people began to oppose Abe’s funeral at government expense. The incumbent PM Kishida has also been particularly hurt by revelations about his ties with the church following the LDP’s unilateral victory in the posthumous elections. Kishida’s approval rating has dropped from 63 per cent to 29 per cent. However, the LDP is now in power and has severed all ties with the Unification Church and has apologized to the people.

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tags: japan, Shinzo Abe