Ties between elected officials and the Unification Church are not just limited to the national level.

A recent Asahi Shimbun study found that the religious group infiltrated local politics as well by reaching out to large numbers of prefectural assembly members and several prefectural governors.

The online survey found that a total of 447 respondents--150 lawmakers, 290 prefectural assembly members and seven prefectural governors--acknowledged their association with the church, now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU).

Eighty percent of these Diet and prefectural assembly members were affiliated with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The online survey, carried out from Aug. 18 to Sept. 2, contacted a combined 3,333 lawmakers, prefectural assembly members and governors, all of whom were confirmed to be in office as of Aug. 18.

They consisted of 712 Diet members, 2,574 prefectural assembly members and 47 governors.

The study, which received 2,989 valid responses for a total response rate of 89.6 percent, could not contact one lawmaker and 85 prefectural assembly members.

Of the 712 Diet members, 635 replied, or 89.1 percent. As for prefectural assembly members, 2,307 responded, or 89.6 percent. All the governors replied.

PUBLIC BACKLASH

The Unification Church is now the focus of extensive media coverage in the aftermath of the July 8 slaying of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and revelations of extensive ties with politicians, often in the form of providing support during election campaigns.

The suspected gunman, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, told investigators he targeted Abe because the veteran lawmaker endorsed the group by sending congratulatory messages to events it promoted. He also blamed the church for his miserable upbringing, saying his mother, a follower, bankrupted the family by donating all her money to the group.

The church is also at the center of controversy over its aggressive ways of soliciting donations from followers and others, even when it bankrupted them.

Noting mounting public fury over perceived shady dealings between politicians and the church, Kishida apologized for his party’s ties with the group at an Aug. 31 news conference and instructed party members to sever their relations forthwith.

The LDP is expected to issue a full report on the issue after its lawmakers have examined their ties with the church and reported back to the party.

Of the 447 respondents who admitted having a connection with the church, 434 said they attended, or gave a congratulatory speech at or sent a message in kind to related events.

Seventy-four admitted to paying fees to attend related events and 41 acknowledged having received assistance in election campaigns, including the dispatch of personnel, usually volunteers enlisted to help distribute campaign leaflets about particular candidates.

A further 23 said they accepted political donations or received money through the sale of fund-raising party tickets by individuals connected with the church.

Some respondents acknowledged they were involved in more than one such activity.

The questionnaire did not ask whether any of them had granted an interview to The Sekai Nippo, a daily published by a Tokyo company linked to the church.

Of the 150 Diet members who admitted having connections to the church, 120 were with the LDP; 14 with Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party); nine with the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP); one each with Komei, the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) and the Sanseito party; as well as four independents.

The survey found that 141 of these legislators attended or sent a congratulatory message to church-related events.

Thirty paid participation fees for events, 22 received help during election campaigns and 19 received political donations or accepted money in the form of tickets for party fund-raising events.

The sole Cabinet member who did not reply to the questionnaire was Naoki Okada, the minister in charge of regional revitalization.

However, Okada said at an Aug. 10 news conference, after Kishida reshuffled his Cabinet, that he had sent messages to events sponsored by church-related organizations and that his aide also attended some functions.

Three Cabinet members who admitted having contact with the church were internal affairs minister Minoru Terada, health minister Katsunobu Kato and economic revitalization minister Daishiro Yamagiwa.

Of the LDP’s top executives, policy chief Koichi Hagiuda acknowledged that he had paid participation fees for church-related events. However, he denied having received church assistance in election campaigns.

At the prefectural level, LDP assembly members, 239 in total, led other political parties in terms of those who had links to the church. They were followed by Komei, with 11; Nippon Ishin, with seven; the CDP, with four; the DPP, with one; others, with three; and 25 independents.

Of the assembly members, 286 paid participated in or sent a congratulatory message to events; 44 paid participation fees for events; 18 received assistance during election campaigns; and four accepted money either in the form of political donations or through the sale of tickets for party fund-raising events.

The governors who admitted contact with the church were from Miyagi, Akita, Toyama, Fukui, Aichi, Tokushima and Kagoshima prefectures.

NAME CHANGE FACTOR

The survey also showed that 78 of all respondents cited the 2015 name change of the Unification Church to the FFWPU as a factor in deciding they could associate with the church or its related organizations.

Of the total 447 elected officials linked to the church, 384--139 Diet members, 242 prefectural assembly members and three governors--answered that they will review their relations with the group.