Photo/Illutration A building in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward housing the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, commonly known as the Unification Church (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The Tokyo District Court fined the Unification Church for failing to answer questions about its finances from the education ministry, a decision that could affect the very survival of the religious organization.

The fine of 100,000 yen ($658), ordered on March 26, was the first one issued under the Religious Corporation Law for refusing to provide information.

Officials of the church, now formally called the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, said they will immediately appeal the order to the Tokyo High Court.

The size of the fine is not important.

What could prove critical is that the district court ruling recognized for the first time that the religious group’s actions, which have been deemed “wrong” under the Civil Code, can also be considered “violations of laws and regulations.”

The Religious Corporation Law states that a court can issue a dissolution order if a religious organization commits an “act in violation of laws and regulations that is clearly recognized as being substantially detrimental to public welfare.”

The education ministry has asked the district court to order the dissolution of the church over accusations that it has financially exploited its followers for decades through manipulative sales of overpriced religious items and demands for excessive donations.

The education ministry exercised its right to question the church based on the Religious Corporation Law and sought information from church officials.

The ministry sent questionnaires to the church on seven occasions, asking more than 500 questions about such issues as donations, organizational operations and properties it owns.

But the church declined to respond to many of the questions, ministry officials said.

One problem facing the ministry in its quest to disband the church is that all legal action taken against the church so far has been based on the Civil Code.

In seeking the fine, the ministry said that civil wrongs, such as demanding excessive donations, should be regarded as “violations of laws and regulations.”

The church argued that the term “violations of laws and regulations” refers to crimes under the Penal Code, not to violations of the Civil Code.

The religious group also said the ministry’s questioning authority, intended to pave the way for the dissolution order, was illegal.

The district court found that wrongs under the Civil Code are not necessarily excluded from “violations of laws and regulations” under the Religious Corporation Law.

It also noted that unlawful solicitation of donations and other wrongful acts have been recognized in 22 civil lawsuits against the church, and there were likely additional cases that never went to court.

In conclusion, the court found there was a “suspicion” that the church had engaged in acts that met the requirements for a dissolution order, and that the ministry was justified in exercising its right to question the church.

The same division of the district court is processing the ministry’s request for the dissolution order. The interpretation of “violations of laws and regulations” could play a part in the eventual decision on whether the church should be disbanded.

However, the court emphasized that it found only a “suspicion” of violations of laws and regulations that allowed the exercise of the questioning authority.

The district court emphasized that the dissolution request should be “judged carefully and strictly, taking into account the importance of freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution.”

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