Photo/Illutration A meeting of the Religious Corporations Council held Dec. 14 in Tokyo (Chika Yamamoto)

The education ministry again invoked its power to question a religious group by demanding the Unification Church provide more details about its operations and finances by Jan. 6.

The Dec. 14 move, following one late last month, comes on the heels of a spate of unsavory disclosures about the church’s tactics to siphon large sums in donations from followers and others. The inquiry could eventually lead to the group being stripped by a court of its status as a religious corporation with tax benefits.

Ministry sources said the questions centered on 22 civil court rulings that found the church had engaged in illegal acts or had been responsible as an employer, as well as cases that resulted in amicable settlements or out-of-court bargaining.

The ministry also wanted to know if the church had adhered to its compliance declaration, which the group issued soon after a 2009 police search of a sales company with ties to the group on suspicion of violating the Specified Commercial Transactions Law.

Followers of the church, now formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, served as the company president and in other senior positions.

Police believed the company used scare tactics to drum up donations from followers and others, often by saying unkind and untruthful things about them, as well as selling them personal seals used as a form of identification at inflated prices.

The company president was later found guilty.

According to the church, it issued an internal memorandum on Feb. 13 and March 25, 2009, obliging followers to “act in ways that do not invite criticism of the church or violate the law.”

The memorandum was issued after police searched the sales company on Feb. 10 of that year.

The church contends the memorandum was a compliance declaration.

But the ministry said problems involving the church continued after the declaration.

It is trying to ascertain if the church’s operations have been aboveboard since it issued the declaration.

The ministry exercised its power to question a religious corporation for the first time on Nov. 22, mailing a list of questions to the church and demanding a reply by Dec. 9.

The church mailed its documents on Dec. 9.

Officials said the ministry will not reach a decision this year on whether or not it will ask a court to issue an order to dissolve the church.

Under the Religious Corporation Law, the ministry is required to ask the Religious Corporations Council’s opinion before exercising that right.

According to the sources, the council is expected to hold multiple meetings on the issue from early next year.

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