Photo/Illutration The texts of petitions submitted to the Chiryu and Takahama city assemblies in Aichi Prefecture are identical and call on assembly members not to adopt a resolution to sever ties with a “certain religious organization,” a veiled reference to the Unification Church. (The Asahi Shimbun)

With local leaders moving to distance themselves from the Unification Church, adherents are urging assemblies across Japan not to pledge to sever their ties with the religious group and question the politicians’ religious beliefs by sending petitions.

The petitions began arriving in November after a flurry of local assemblies adopted opinion statements since the fall vowing to cut off their relations with the Unification Church. Followers, alarmed by the development, moved quickly to counter similar moves elsewhere. 

But the Unification Church, now formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), denied involvement in the petition drive.

“We believe that followers acted on their own and we are not behind it,” said a church representative.

In Kumamoto Prefecture, petitions have been presented to the prefectural assembly, as well as to a majority of the 45 municipal assemblies since late November.

One addressed to the chairman of the Kumamoto municipal assembly was dated Nov. 24 and contained the name of a petitioner and said the individual is from the church.

The petition sought action on two fronts.

One was for the assembly not declare or adopt a resolution to the effect it would sever relations with a “certain religious corporation and affiliated organizations.”

The other asked that inquiries are not made to ask public figures and private citizens about whether they adhere to a certain religion and if they are linked to the religious group.

A 61-year-old follower in Kumamoto told The Asahi Shimbun he handed petitions to three municipalities in the prefecture.

He said his action was prompted by the Toyama city assembly in Toyama Prefecture, which adopted a resolution in September that assembly members will cut their links with the church.

In Fukuoka Prefecture, similar petitions and written requests were handed to at least the municipal assemblies of Fukuoka, Kurume, Yame, Chikugo and Omuta.

The one sent to the head of the Kurume municipal assembly identified the sender as representative of members of the FFWPU’s Kurume branch. But the text was almost identical with the one submitted to the Kumamoto city assembly.

In the case of the Yame municipal assembly, a written request listing the name of the representative of the Kurume branch was submitted to all 20 assembly members, excluding two who are members of the Japanese Communist Party.

The church’s Kurume branch said it had no part in the petition effort.

In Nagasaki Prefecture, a written request was also submitted to the governor of the prefecture and the mayors of Nagasaki and Sasebo, in addition to several municipal assemblies.

In Tokyo, the Ota Ward assembly received a petition on Nov. 18, only to reject it on Dec. 8.

Other municipal assemblies that received petitions include those in Joetsu in Niigata Prefecture, Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture and Chiryu, Takahama and Togo in Aichi Prefecture.

In the case of Chiryu and Takahama, the text was identical.

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