Photo/Illutration The Tokyo headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Organizations affiliated with the Unification Church have asked lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to sign “policy pacts” in exchange for support in elections.

The Asahi Shimbun has learned that at least five LDP lawmakers were asked to sign such pacts before the 2021 Lower House election as well as the Upper House election held in July this year.

Sources with the Unification Church, now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, said dozens of LDP lawmakers around the nation have been approached about signing the policy pacts.

The policies included in the pacts were slightly different depending on the lawmaker approached, but the objectives often included revising the Constitution, strengthening the national security framework, and remaining cautious about legalizing same-sex marriages and other issues related to sexual minorities.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was asked about the policy pacts at the Oct. 20 Upper House Budget Committee.

“The LDP will look into the matter to accurately grasp the situation,” he said.

Although connections between the church and LDP politicians have become clearer this year, Kishida and other LDP executives have repeatedly denied that the Unification Church or any other organization influenced policy decisions made by the ruling party.

Lawmakers approached by the organizations also said they were never asked after the elections to push specific policies.

And not all LDP lawmakers approached by the organizations signed the pacts.

Many of the objectives included in the policy pacts presented to lawmakers by the Federation for World Peace and Heiwa Taishi Kyogikai (Peace ambassadors conference) were already pushed by the LDP.

In the past two national elections, the LDP’s campaign platforms included pledges to enact laws to support family education and promote the sound raising of young people.

Such objectives were found in the policy pacts presented by the groups linked with the Unification Church.

A source with the church said the move to have lawmakers sign the policy pacts started in the past few years after members complained that the group’s policy goals were not being met even after they supported certain candidates in elections.

Signed policy pacts would allow the organizations and lawmakers to maintain ties after elections and allow the groups to say they are on close terms with the LDP.

The LDP has not been open about such policy pacts. The pacts were not mentioned in the report the party released in September about ties between its lawmakers and the Unification Church.

An aide to a Lower House member admitted to signing the policy pact on behalf of the lawmaker after an official with the Federation for World Peace visited the local constituency office.

That was when Yoshihide Suga was still prime minister. The aide expressed concerns about the upcoming Lower House election because of the clumsy way the LDP-led government was handling the novel coronavirus pandemic.

During the Lower House campaign, church members volunteered to call voters to ask them to support the lawmaker.

A representative for the Federation for World Peace told The Asahi Shimbun: “There is nothing wrong with supporting a particular political party and candidates. We decline to comment on specifics.”

Heiwa Taishi Kyogikai did not respond to an inquiry from The Asahi Shimbun.

Kazunori Kawamura, a political science associate professor at Tohoku University, said there was also a need to check for policy pacts signed between groups affiliated with the Unification Church and local assembly members, especially with unified local elections scheduled for next spring.

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