TOKYO – The Unification Church in Japan pledged on Thursday to prevent followers from making “excessive” donations, after criticism of its practices following the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Abe’s alleged assassin is believed to have resented the sect over massive donations his mother made to the church, leaving his family bankrupt. He […]
A view of St Peter's Square and Basilica, at the Vatican, on Dec 17, 2021. (ANDREW MEDICHINI / AP) VATICAN CITY – Flemish Roman Catholic bishops on Tuesday issued a document effectively allowing the blessing of same-sex unions, in direct defiance of a ruling against such practices by the Vatican's doctrinal office. The document published […]
TOKYO – Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will release an updated list of members who have had connections with the controversial Unification Church, its secretary-general Toshimitsu Motegi said on Tuesday. Links between the church and LDP have been in focus after former premier Shinzo Abe was shot during an election rally. The suspected killer […]
TOKYO – Support for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet is in free fall, jeopardising his promised “golden era” of policymaking although his tenure is in no immediate risk of a premature end. Approval ratings plunged to new lows in a series of opinion surveys over the weekend, suggesting that he has all but failed […]
TOKYO – Support for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tumbled to its lowest level since he took office, hit by growing anger over a state funeral for slain former leader Shinzo Abe and his ruling party’s ties to a controversial church, an opinion poll showed. Mr Kishida’s support fell to 32.3 per cent from 42.3 […]
TOKYO – Japan’s prime minister said on Thursday he accepted criticism that he had not sufficiently explained why he wants a state funeral for slain former premier Shinzo Abe, but defended the decision that has helped drag his support to its lowest ever. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s decision to hold the funeral on Sept 27, to […]
TOKYO – When Mr Sun Myung Moon, the Korean founder of the Unification Church, needed money for its extensive spiritual and business ventures, he would look to Japan, according to some former members. “Senior officials would tell us he needed hundreds of millions of dollars, and that Japan had to pay,” said Kanazawa University Professor […]
TOKYO – Disapproval of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet edged above 40 per cent for the first time, propelled by doubts over whether his ruling party would ever be free of ties to the Unification Church, according to a public opinion poll. Revelations of long-running links to the church founded in South Korea in […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday (Aug 31) that politicians had a duty of being cautious about their ties with various organisations and apologised for his party members’ reported activities with the controversial Unification Church. “As head of the party, I offer my sincere apologies,” he told a news conference […]
TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) – Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination was expected to unite a nation in shock. Instead, it exposed embarrassing ties between the ruling party and the Unification Church, leading to a sharp fall in public support for the current leader and possibly threatening his grip on power. The approval rating for Prime […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – Support for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government has tumbled, battered by questions about the ruling party’s ties to the Unification Church and its response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a public opinion poll. Links to the church, founded in South Korea in the 1950s and famous for its mass weddings, […]
SEOUL (REUTERS) – Thousands of Unification Church members gathered in Seoul on Thursday (Aug 18) to protest what they call discriminatory and unfair Japanese media coverage of their church since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination. The suspect in Abe’s July 8 shooting, Tetsuya Yamagami, bore a grudge against the church, alleging it bankrupted his […]
Egyptian mourners react during the funeral of victims killed in Cairo Coptic church fire, at the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Giza Governorate on Aug 14, 2022. (KHALED DESOUKI / AFP) CAIRO – An electrical fire swept through an Egyptian Coptic Christian church during Mass on Sunday, causing a stampede and killing […]
TOKYO (REUTERS) – Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reshuffled his Cabinet on Wednesday (Aug 10), removing some ministers with links to the Unification Church in a bid to stem plunging support amid growing public outrage over the ruling party’s ties to the controversial group. Mr Kishida, in office since last October, announced his new government […]
TOKYO (NYTIMES) – The day before Shinzo Abe was assassinated, Tetsuya Yamagami sent a letter saying that the Unification Church had ruined his life, “destroying my family and driving it into bankruptcy”. Yamagami’s mother had been a member of the church for more than two decades, making prodigious donations over her family’s objections. “It’s no […]
TOKYO – The Unification Church in Japan on Monday (July 11) said the mother of the gunman who last week assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe is a member of the church. The gunman, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, told police after the assassination that he had targeted Mr Abe in his belief that the former PM was […]