A team of Japanese lawyers representing former followers of the group once called the Unification Church praised a Tokyo court ruling which ordered the religious group to disband.
The head of the team, Murakoshi Susumu, said the Tokyo District Court listened to the voices of the victims and their families, and correctly understood the magnitude of their suffering.
Murakoshi said the former Unification Church should accept the ruling, issue an apology and compensate all the victims at once.
One of the lawyers, Kito Masaki, said after an initial demand by lawyers to disband the group, it took the government about 30 years to file a request for a court order.
Kito said during that period more people were victimized by the group, so he cannot be totally happy about the ruling. He said more needs to be done to help the victims.
The former Unification Church said the court ruling was regrettable but it will take the decision seriously. The group said it will consider filing an appeal to the Tokyo High Court.
The group said the court ruling, which showed that a dissolution order can be issued on grounds that the group violated civil law, will undermine freedom of religion in Japan and lead to serious problems in the future.
The group’s leader, Tanaka Tomihiro, said at a news conference that the group cannot accept the ruling as the decision only recognizes the claims of the former followers who betrayed the group. He said it is clear that the group is not a bad organization which needed to be disbanded.
He said the ruling is obviously unreasonable, and the group will fight until the end for a just decision.
AloJapan.com