Despite admonitions by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to its prefectural chapters not to field candidates in the April unified local elections with ties to the Unification Church, at least two slipped through the cracks. 

The two city assembly members in Tottori and Shiga prefectures had chaired a local branch of a group associated with the embattled church, The Asahi Shimbun has learned.

The newspaper examined income and expenditure reports on political funds in the last three years relating to Kokusai Shokyo Rengo, or the International Federation for Victory over Communism, a group associated with the Unification Church.

Shokyo Rengo is a political organization established in 1968 by Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church, now called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. 

Shokyo Rengo has advocated “liberation from communism,” a constitutional revision and promotion of “correct family values.”

Four of all the past chairs of the Unification Church’s Japanese branch also served as the chair of Shokyo Rengo. The organization has a headquarters in each prefecture.

Among all these prefectural headquarters’ income and expenditure reports, The Asahi Shimbun investigated the reports of the past three years--2019, 2020 and 2021.

These reports are currently available publicly.

Based on these reports, it was learned that Tsukasa Moritani, a 71-year-old city assemblyman of Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, used to serve as the chair of the Tottori prefectural headquarters of Shokyo Rengo.

It was also discovered that the home of Katsumi Togo, a 58-year-old city assembly member of Yasu, Shiga Prefecture, was reported as an office of the Shiga prefectural headquarters of Shokyo Rengo.

According to a Tottori prefectural government journal, Moritani chaired its prefectural headquarters for more than 10 years from 2009.

He was first elected to the city assembly in an election to fill a vacancy in April 2021. After the victory, he remained in the chair’s position.

But he submitted a report that he had been replaced on Sept. 7, 2022, two months after the killing of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

According to the prefectural election board, the report said he was replaced in January 2022, months before the shooting.

Under the Political Funds Control Law, such reports are required to be submitted within seven days of the replacement.

Moritani left the LDP after the Abe assassination.

The Asahi Shimbun asked Moritani about his relationship with the church and why he left the party, to which he said in writing, “I cannot comment because of the freedom of thought and freedom of religion. I made the decision for personal reasons.”

SHIGA HEADQUARTERS BASED IN HOME

For Togo, his home in Yasu also served as Shokyo Rengo’s prefectural headquarters office from 2010 until the end of March 2021.

Togo told The Asahi Shimbun that he became a member of the organization a “few decades ago.”

He was first elected to the city assembly in October 2017.

He served as an accountant at Shokyo Rengo’s prefectural headquarters for 28 years, from 1993 until spring 2021.

From 2010, he made his home the headquarters office.

“There was no other place to be based,” he said.

Togo said, “I have nothing to hide, but I will decline to attend an event or a meeting hosted by the organization.”

He declined to disclose whether he is still a member of Shokyo Rengo.

Since 2019, he has served as head of an LDP branch located in the city. He said he will continue on in the position.

CONNECTION TO LDP IN YAMANASHI

According to income and expenditure reports of the organization’s Yamanashi prefectural headquarters from 2019 to 2021, the headquarters chair was a man who also served as treasurer of an LDP branch in Minami-Alps in the prefecture.

The man became the head of the organization's prefectural headquarters in 2015. He became the treasurer at the LDP branch in 2019.

On Jan. 16 this year, the LDP branch submitted a report that its treasurer had been replaced.

A representative of Shokyo Rengo told The Asahi Shimbun, “We have a friendly relationship with (the Unification Church) but we are an independent organization and do not receive instructions from (the Unification Church).”

About the LDP’s new policy to cut ties between the church and its members, the representative said, “It is unfortunate.”

The representative said, “Withdrawing the party’s official endorsement of a candidate or stripping someone’s party membership on the grounds of someone's faith is a violation of the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of religion.”