Kishida’s Unclear Relationship with FFWPU

Asahi Shimbun on Monday reported that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had a meeting with the leader of a non-governmental organization with close relationship with Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, or former Unification Church, at the headquarters of Liberal Democratic Party in 2019. Kishida said that he had no connection with FFWPU as far as he knew at the cabinet reshuffle last summer. As the top of government that requested the court an order to disband FFWPU, Kishida needs to fully explain his personal relationship with the religious organization which is suspected to be a motivation of the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

As the chairman of Policy Research Council of LDP, Kishida met with Masayoshi Kajikuri, the president of Universal Peace Foundation Japan, when he had a meeting with former Speaker of United States House of Representative Newt Gingrich on October 4th, 2019. UPF is a friendly organization of FFWPU, established by the president of FFWPU Hak Ja Han, wife of the founder of FFWPU Sun Myung Moon.

 

Asahi reported that Kishida mainly talked with Gingrich about the situation of U.S. Presidential election. Kajikuri was in the same meeting room and introduced himself to Kishida, exchanging few words and name cards. Gingrich had a close relationship with UPF, often attending major congregations. The office of Kishida sent an answer to a question from Asahi that it recognized the meeting as set for Gingrich.

 

On the meeting with Kajikuri, Kishida explained that he did not know about it. “As former Minister for Foreign Affairs, I met with Mr. Gingrich with a lot of people accompanied with him. I do not know exactly who was there,” said Kishida to the reporters on Monday. To the question whether he exchanged name cards with Kajikuri, Kishida reiterated that he does not remember what he did with them.

 

FFWPU has been investigated by the government after the assassin of Abe, Tatsuya Yamagami, revealed that his mother had been suffering from coercive donation by FFWPU and he thought Abe had close relationship with the organization. As long as the government keep on investigating the organization, Kishida needs to disclose any of his personal relationship with it. When Kishida reshuffled his cabinet in August 2022, a month after the assassination of Abe, he denied any connection with FFWPU.

 

It is not unusual for a politician to meet with a foreign leader bringing a big delegation, and it is understandable that the politician does not remember all the people he has met. But it is about the organization which gave a great shock to the nation. Kishida is responsible for giving sincere answers to any question about his relationship. But Kishida did not clearly answer to Asahi’s questions. It is likely that Kishida will be grilled in the discussion of the Diet.

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