THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
August 24, 2022 at 18:18 JST
Chinami Nishimura, secretary-general of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, announces the results of the party’s latest survey of its lawmakers on their connection with the Unification Church at a news conference on Aug. 23. (Taro Kotegawa)
Six more lawmakers from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, including its former leader Yukio Edano, had some connection with the Unification Church, an internal party survey found.
The latest findings, released on Aug. 23, brought the total number of lawmakers in the CDP who have disclosed ties to the church to 14.
Chinami Nishimura, the party’s secretary-general, reported at a news conference held the same day that all 14 lawmakers said they did not realize that the groups they had contact with were associated with the Unification Church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.
The CDP is asking its lawmakers to come clean on any involvement with the church or related groups following the July 8 slaying of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
The suspect police detained over the killing told them his life was ruined by his mother’s massive donations to the church and that he targeted Abe because he thought the veteran politician had ties with it.
In the latest CDP survey, Edano said he was interviewed by reporters with the church-affiliated newspaper Sekai Nippo about the Constitution. It published an article based on the interview in 2006.
Jun Azumi, the CDP’s former Diet Affairs Committee chairman, and Akio Fukuda, a CDP Lower House member, also said they did interviews with the Sekai Nippo that were published in 2010, when the then Democratic Party of Japan was in power.
Azumi and Fukuda belonged to the DPJ at the time.
Kaname Tajima, another CDP Lower House member, admitted to having the Women’s Federation for World Peace, an organization linked with the church, buy tickets for his fund-raising parties.
Yukihito Koga, a CDP Upper House member, and Hiroshi Ogushi, a Lower House member, said they sent congratulatory messages to meetings of groups with ties to the church.
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