Photo/Illutration Education minister Masahito Moriyama answers questions in the Diet on Feb. 7 about his relationship with a group affiliated with the Unification Church. (Takeshi Iwashita)

Education minister Masahito Moriyama on Feb. 7 admitted he signed a de facto “policy pact” with a group affiliated with the Unification Church before it supported his campaign in the 2021 Lower House election.

Moriyama, who has jurisdiction over religious corporations, said during a Lower House Budget Committee meeting, “I may have signed it without reading its content carefully enough.”

The Asahi Shimbun reported earlier in the day that Moriyama had signed the pact, titled, “Confirmation of Recommendations,” which listed policies pushed by the Unification Church.

Moriyama, 70, is a five-term Lower House member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party representing the proportional Kinki bloc and belonging to the Kishida faction.

The Federation for World Peace, a group tied to the Unification Church, now called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, held a “national policy briefing event” in Kobe in October 2021, just before the official start of campaigning for the Lower House election.

Moriyama attended the event, sources said.

In a room with several dozen people, a church official handed Moriyama the “Confirmation of Recommendations” letter and asked him to sign it.

The agreement sought support for policies of the church, such as “revising the Constitution and strengthening the security system,” “working to enact the family education support law and the basic law for the sound development of youth,” “handling LGBT issues and the legalization of same-sex marriage with caution,” and “promoting the realization of the Japan-Korea tunnel.”

Moriyama signed it on the spot. A federation official then gave Moriyama a letter of endorsement.

His signature on the “Confirmation of Recommendations” was a condition for the letter of endorsement, sources said.

During the election campaign, 10 to 20 members of the federation, who were also followers of the church, called voters daily and urged them to vote for Moriyama, sources said.

In November 2022, The Asahi Shimbun conducted a survey on Diet members, including Moriyama, asking whether they had exchanged “Confirmation of Recommendations” letters with the church.

Moriyama denied ever being presented such a document, let alone signing one.

At the Lower House Budget Committee meeting on Feb. 7, Chinami Nishimura of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan asked Moriyama about the 2021 election campaign and documents he may have signed.

But the education minister only gave vague responses or said he “doesn’t remember.”

The education ministry has investigated the Unification Church over its fund-collection methods and financial dealings.

Based on the investigation’s findings, the ministry under Moriyama has requested a court order to dissolve the religious organization.

Court hearings on the order will start later this month.

Nishimura demanded that Moriyama be removed from office, saying he is a “stakeholder” in the issue.

But Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated that he has no intention of ousting Moriyama because “he currently has no relationship with the organization in question.”

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