S/ Lawyer for Unification Church / I can’t believe it. I wonder if this can really be allowed. All I can say is that this is no longer a nation ruled by law.

On March 4, the Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court’s decision ordering the Unification Church to dissolve and rejected the organization’s appeal.

The court case began in October 2023 when the culture ministry asked the Tokyo District Court to order the organization to dissolve on the grounds that it had long pressured followers into making large donations and purchasing expensive items by inducing anxiety.

In March 2025, the district court issued a dissolution order against the religious organization, saying it caused unprecedented enormous damage over a period of about 40 years.

The church appealed the decision, and closed-door hearings were held at the Tokyo High Court starting May last year.

The organization, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, said in the hearings that damage has significantly decreased since its compliance declaration in 2009.

The church also claimed it was continuing efforts to resolve issues through collective mediation and other actions.

Meanwhile, the government argued that illegal solicitation of donations had been repeatedly carried out nationwide over a long period and that no fundamental improvement was seen even after the compliance declaration.

The hearings concluded in November when the two sides submitted their final written arguments.

After the high court decision, the Unification Church’s lawyer expressed intention to take the case to the Supreme Court.

But even if the organization appeals to the top court, the dissolution order takes effect and procedures for liquidating the church and providing relief to victims will begin.

The church will lose its status as a religious corporation and thereby no longer be eligible for tax benefits.

But it could continue its missionary and faith-related activities as before in its capacity as a voluntary organization.