Photo/Illutration A second-generation former member of the Unification Church speaks at an Oct. 27 news conference held at the welfare ministry in Tokyo. (Mirei Jinguji)

Children of followers of the Unification Church and other religious organizations called on the government to enact legislation to protect them from abuse and set up consultation centers where they can seek help.

These children, known as “second-generation” former members, held a news conference at the welfare ministry in Tokyo on Oct. 27 to press their case.

“We have been told that (public authorities) cannot intervene with issues involving a religion,” one individual said at the news conference. “We urge the government to treat abuse cases involving religions and beliefs in the same way as other abuse cases.”

Second-generation former followers said they have been forced to undertake certain activities or follow a specific religion against their will.

They said they have suffered both physical and mental abuse form the religious groups, and that instilling fear is a common method used by the organizations to get their way.

But the former followers said child consultation centers and other public organizations have turned them away when they sought help, citing “religious issues.”

They will soon send written requests to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the welfare ministry and other parties to demand revisions of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Law.

They said that legislative measures should be passed during the current extraordinary Diet session.

For example, they want the law to specify that using fear to restrict people’s actions or coerce them into doing certain things is a form of mental abuse.

The revised law should also penalize members of religious groups who provide guidance or instructions for abusive behavior against other people, they said.

A woman using the pseudonym Sayuri Ogawa said at the news conference that they want a cross-party response to this issue, and that Kishida should hear the experiences of the second-generation followers.

“This is not just an issue between parents and their children or among families,” she said. “We demand immediate support.”

Ogawa, whose parents are still followers of the Unification Church, held a news conference on Oct. 7 at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan in Tokyo to explain the family’s huge donations to the group.

The church and her parents tried to stop the news conference by sending faxes to the club, alleging Ogawa was “lying” and suffering from a mental illness.

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