Photo/Illutration Kotaro Tanaka, second from left, a member of the lawyers' team, speaks about the results of the survey on alleged child abuse by members of Jehovah's Witnesses religious group in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on Nov. 20. (Amane Shimazaki)

As part of a survey documenting abuse among Jehovah's Witnesses, 81 percent of second-generation followers report possessing cards showing their refusal to receive blood transfusions.

According to the survey, released by a team of lawyers, more than 90 percent of respondents said they had experienced physical abuse, such as whippings. 

“There are reports that these abusive practices have been carried out for several decades in various places, showing a continuity and systematic nature (to the abuse),” one of the lawyers reported.

Kotaro Tanaka, a lawyer on the survey team, said at a news conference on Nov. 20, “Followers were abused when they were children. They could continue to experience human rights violations for decades, sometimes for their entire lives.

“It’s necessary to understand this serious reality and find ways to stop the abuse as a society,” he said.

The survey team submitted its report to the Agency for Children and Families.

Ayuko Kato, state minister for policies related to children, said at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting, “Child abuse is never to be tolerated, even if it stems from religious beliefs.”

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan held a hearing in the Diet on Nov. 20 in which two former followers who were born to a family of Jehovah's Witnesses attended.

One of them testified that he was a “medical institution liaison member” and instructed followers to refuse blood transfusions even though he had no medical knowledge or qualifications.

The team of lawyers, which provides legal support to former Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as to children of its members, conducted the survey on alleged child abuse related to the denomination's religious beliefs.

They solicited responses from followers and former followers between May and June through their website and experts on the issue of second-generation Jehovah’s Witnesses. A total of 581 people responded.

The survey asked about issues including refusal of blood transfusions, physical assaults such as whipping, forced propagandism and restrictions on social interactions.

These were all categorized as child abuse in the health and welfare ministry’s guidelines, which define child abuse from religious parents and were published at the end of last year.

Some of the questions targeted people who were born into followers' families. The team asked those who were under 18 when they participated in the religious activities. 

More than 80 percent of respondents said they possessed either a blood transfusion refusal card or an identification document showing parents do not want blood transfusions administered to their children.

Among the followers, striking with bare hands, rulers or belts is called a “whipping.” Ninety-two percent of respondents said they have experienced it.

Furthermore, 96 percent of respondents said that they had been unable to participate in certain classes and school events.

In response to the study, Jehovah's Witnesses told The Asahi Shimbun, “We do not force our religion on children and do not condone child abuse.”

(This article was written by Amane Shimazaki, Ryuichi Kitano, senior staff writer, and Yuki Kawano.)

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