Photo/Illutration Hideyuki Teshigawara, left, of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification and lawyer Nobuya Fukumoto attend a Sept. 22 news conference in Tokyo. (Shingo Tsuru)

Facing renewed criticism, the Unification Church repeated its promise to reform at a Sept. 22 news conference that did little to ease concerns about the organization and its financial activities.

Church officials in Tokyo vowed the thorough implementation of measures of a 2009 legal compliance declaration that was compiled after the Unification Church faced criminal charges over its dubious “spiritual sales” tactics.

The officials also said the amount of money funneled to the organization’s world headquarters in South Korea would be reduced.

Money sent to South Korea from now would be used to help children of church members who are facing economic and other difficulties, they said.

But they did not say how much money had been sent until now nor specify the reduction amount.

Hideyuki Teshigawara, a church official who heads the reform promotion headquarters, said at the news conference that efforts would be reinforced to ban donations made through threats against members.

He also said the church will try to ensure that the donations made do not exceed the economic standing of the member.

Similar measures were included in the 2009 declaration, but former members have said excessive donations as well as recruiting efforts that concealed the true nature of the organization have continued.

The church has officially changed its name to the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

Before the 2009 declaration, the church faced legal action over “spiritual sales,” in which senior officials enticed or coerced followers and others to buy expensive items from the church.

Teshigawara said he knew of no spiritual sales made after 2009.

The church came under scrutiny again after the July 8 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The suspected killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, held a grudge against the church because of the huge donations made by his mother.

Teshigawara said that after Abe’s death the church received 114 requests from members for the return of their donations. He also said several dozen members asked to leave the church.

Nobuya Fukumoto, a lawyer for the church who also attended the news conference, said the donations made by Yamagami’s mother exceeded 100 million yen ($704,000).

The funds came from a life insurance policy and the selling of real estate.

“In my view, that was an excessive donation,” Fukumoto said.

So Kimura, a lawyer who has provided consultations for people regarding large donations made to the church, was not impressed with the church’s latest promises.

“True reform will not take place until there is an admission that an organizational effort was involved (in collecting donations), an apology is issued and changes are implemented,” Kimura told opposition party lawmakers at a meeting on Sept. 22.

The controversy surrounding the church has become a political issue, given the ties between the organization and many lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

However, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida again said he would not call for an investigation into the ties between Abe and the Unification Church.

“Regarding the various activities and ties (of Abe), any judgment would be fundamentally based on what is in the heart of the person involved, so there are limitations to grasping what the situation was actually like now that that person is dead,” Kishida said at a news conference in New York on Sept. 22.

Kishida was responding to questions by reporters about possibly questioning Abe’s staff members about his relationship with the church.

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