Photo/Illutration The main office of the Japanese arm of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The education ministry has sent an inquiry document to the Unification Church concerning its money, including donation collected and overseas money transfers, a subject considered the heart of the investigation into the religious group.

The deadline for a reply from the church is Feb. 7.

The document, sent on Jan. 18, is the third from the ministry, which has jurisdiction over religious organizations and has been given the authority to question the church.

The Unification Church is the first religious corporation in Japan to be subject to an official ministry inquiry that could lead to a possible dissolution order.

For decades, the group has been criticized over its financial activities, including “spiritual sales” and aggressive collecting of donations from followers.

On Jan. 18, a church representative released a statement, saying the organization intends to give “an appropriate reply by the deadline,” just as it did with the previous two inquiry documents.

In the latest document, the church was asked about 80 points, including details on the donations received and the money transfers to overseas countries, as well as budgets, settlements of accounts, assets, and salaries and retirement pay for church employees and management, according to an official with the Cultural Affairs Agency, which is handling the probe.

A senior ministry official said one key aim of the third inquiry document is to uncover the mechanism of money transfers between the church’s Japanese arm and its global headquarters in South Korea, where the group was founded.

“This time, the investigation is about the church’s money, which is heart of the whole issue,” the official said.

The ministry hopes to ascertain evidence showing the group continued to be involved in organized and wrongful acts that significantly impaired public welfare in violation of relevant laws.

If such evidence is found, the church, which now calls itself the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, could face a court-issued dissolution order under the Religious Corporation Law.

The order would strip the church of its religious corporation status that makes it eligible for tax breaks. But it could still continue its activities as a religious organization.

Before sending the document, the ministry consulted the Religious Corporations Council, a panel advising the education minister, on whether the contents were appropriate.

The council unanimously approved the document.

The first inquiry document, sent on Nov. 22, asked about the church’s organization and assets.

The agency is currently analyzing the church’s answers received on Jan. 6 to its second inquiry document, which was sent on Dec. 14.

The second inquiry centered on court rulings involving the church and how it is faring with its pledge in 2009 to enforce compliance among followers to refrain from aggressive sales tactics.

The agency has left open the possibility of exercising the right to ask additional questions to the church.

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