Multiple ruling party lawmakers confirmed that organizations tied to the Unification Church formed support groups for their election campaigns and other activities, and one affiliate even distributed manuals on setting up such groups.

A senior official with a church-related organization called the Federation for World Peace said “at least tens of support groups nationwide” were formed to back individual lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party.

Yet only two LDP legislators have acknowledged receiving systemic support from the church side during election campaigns, according to the party’s in-house investigation.

One church-linked support group was set up about four years ago for an LDP Upper House member representing a constituency in western Japan.

The support group was named after one kanji character each of the legislator’s name and the Japanese translation of the Federation for World Peace, which was established by Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church.

The lawmaker told The Asahi Shimbun that he was asked by a supporter to provide a briefing on Diet affairs at a gathering of the support group. He also said 20 to 30 people, many of them members of the Federation for World Peace, were in attendance when he spoke.

The legislator said three such gatherings were held.

But he downplayed the role of the group.

“I do not believe that it played such a big part that it can be called my ‘support group,’” he said.

A mid-level LDP lawmaker in the Lower House also confirmed that he has a support group of around 30 people, including members of the Federation for World Peace.

An official familiar with his office said the church-related group was an “actual working unit for campaigning.”

“The operation of the unit was made easier because they could engage in activities as members of his support group,” the official said.

An individual close to the office of another LDP member of the Lower House said a man belonging to the Federation for World Peace set up a support group in the lawmaker’s constituency before the Lower House election in 2014.

The individual said the lawmaker later learned about the group’s relations with the church, which is now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

A former senior official with the International Federation for Victory Over Communism, a church-linked group recognized by the internal affairs ministry as political organization, told The Asahi Shimbun that a “manual” was previously published on how to set up a support group.

The official said copies of the manual were handed out at a conference of senior members of local chapters of the International Federation for Victory over Communism in Tokyo in the first half of the 2000s.

The federation called for the establishment of support groups for lawmakers. And the manual said the group names should sound “common,” by, for example, incorporating the names of a local region and a legislator, the official said.

The manual also stated the purpose of forming a support group is “to normalize and deepen relations with a lawmaker” and “greatly influence that lawmaker.”

It also said the support group must comprehend definitive vote counts by routinely keeping tabs on the size of the group.

Details were provided in the manual on suggested activities, such as holding sessions with briefings on Diet affairs and small gatherings ahead of elections, as well as instructions on arranging inaugural ceremonies for support groups.

The former official with the International Federation for Victory over Communism said many members joined the activities of the Federation for World Peace after the Cold War ended.

He also said the Federation for World Peace set up support groups for multiple legislators based on this manual.

The LDP said its lawmakers would sever ties with the church after its relations with politicians were put in the spotlight following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July.

A follower of the Unification Church who lives in the Kanto region told The Asahi Shimbun that a lawmaker said this summer that he would cut ties with church people.

The follower, who has long supported the lawmaker, is not happy about the development.

“I have mixed feelings about this one-sided ultimatum, given all our support to him over many years,” the follower said.

The Federation for World Peace and the International Federation for Victory over Communism declined to comment about the support groups, saying they cannot verify the accounts given by individuals whose identities were withheld.