Photo/Illutration The building that houses the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Ninety percent of prefectural assembly members with ties to the Unification Church were re-elected in the unified local elections in April, but their popularity showed signs of waning, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.

The unified elections were the first collective nationwide vote held since the Unification Church came under fire again for its fund-collection methods following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in July last year, apparently over his ties to the religious group.

According to an Asahi Shimbun survey conducted in August and September last year, 292 of the 2,314 responding prefectural assembly members acknowledged their connections with the church, now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

The ties included attendance at Unification Church-related meetings or events, and receiving support from the group in election campaigns.

The terms for 251 church-connected assembly members expired in spring. Of them, 228 sought re-election in the April 9 elections held in 41 of Japan’s 47 prefectures, while 23 members did not run due to age or other reasons.

Of these candidates, 206, or 90.4 percent, were re-elected. Twenty-two members, or 9.6 percent, lost their seats.

Among those re-elected, 47, or around 23 percent, ran uncontested.

More than 80 percent of the church-tied prefectural assembly members were from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Among all 1,111 LDP incumbents who ran in the local assembly elections, 98 members, or 8.8 percent, were defeated.

Of all 228 candidates who confirmed their ties to the church, 118 gained fewer votes than in the previous election, while 42 garnered more ballots.

It is not clear if the church ties affected vote counts for 68 of the candidates because they ran uncontested in either of the two latest elections, or won in a by-election held within the past four years.

However, some candidates lost several thousand to 10,000 votes compared to their tallies in the previous election after their connections with the church became known.

Setsuko Sakuraba, 65, an LDP candidate, sought a second term in the Niigata prefectural assembly from the electoral district of Joetsu city.

But she was defeated in the election after gaining 9,536 votes. That was 2,459 votes fewer than her total in the previous election, when she placed fourth and gained one of the five assembly seats for the city.

Sakuraba had attended Unification Church-related events and received support in her campaign from people connected to the group.

These ties were reported in local newspapers and The Asahi Shimbun.

After her election loss, Sakuraba said about her church ties, “It’s hard to say how much, but there must have been a significant impact (on the election results.)”

She said someone had placed stickers with words “Unification Church endorsed candidate” on her campaign posters in Joetsu city.

About 50 to 60 of these stickers were found, she said.

In the Tochigi prefectural assembly election, 82-year-old Kazuyoshi Itabashi of the LDP was elected for a national record 14th straight time.

Itabashi gained 10,411 votes in the election four years ago, but this time he received 7,674 ballots, down by 2,737.

He also received the fewest votes among the five elected candidates representing the Oyama city and Nogi town electoral district.

“I think there was a slight decrease in votes,” he said after the election.

In September last year, reports surfaced that Itabashi was serving as head of the prefectural association of a church-related organization called the Federation for World Peace.

He resigned from the position.

Before the election, a Buddhist organization that had supported Itabashi told him that it would withhold its support because of his connection to the Federation for World Peace.

The Unification Church’s public relations department told The Asahi Shimbun, “Our organization has never had involvement with specific candidates or political parties.”

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