All the bombshells that came out of the “Internet Conference” for believers of the former Unification Church

UPF Executives Speak of Internal Crisis

The contents of the “Special Net Conference” for believers held by the United Parishes for World Peace and Unification (hereafter, the former Unification Church), as reported in the September 16 issue of this magazine, are causing a stir within the church. In a meeting held on August 19 for frontline leaders from across Japan, President Tomihiro Tanaka (66) said, “My parents’ family is a psychic salesman.

In a meeting held on August 19 for executives from across the country, Tomihiro Tanaka, 66, the head of the church, stated, “My parents’ home is full of psychic products.

At previous press conferences, he has said, “I have been involved in this business for a long time. Since he had assured his followers at previous conferences that he had not engaged in psychic sales in the past or at present, his admission, which could be called a contradiction in terms, shocked his followers.

The details of the “online meeting” were reported in Friday, and there was an uproar within the cult. The fact that the meeting, which was completely for internal use, was leaked must mean that there is that much growing distrust of the head of the Order among the congregation. Some members of the general congregation who were not able to watch the meeting said, “They should have given a proper explanation of the psychic business at the press conference as well. Incidentally, all ‘online meetings’ after the article was published have been canceled.

However, that is not the only “bombshell” that was left in the audio data of the “Net Conference” obtained by this magazine.

What came as a surprise was the appearance of Shunsuke Uotani, Secretary General of the United for Peace in the Universe (UPF), at the end of the one-hour and 20-minute meeting.

Up until now, whenever politicians have sent congratulatory telegrams to or attended events of affiliated organizations, UPF has consistently taken the attitude that “UPF and the affiliated organizations are separate organizations. The argument is that because they are separate organizations, they have nothing to do with the organization.

Nevertheless, Mr. Uoya, an executive of the UPF, attended a meeting for followers of the main organization of the cult and made a shocking statement. He made a shocking statement. Mr. Uotani said

“So far, the media and opposing forces have been talking about the UPF, YSP (Young Students’ Federation for World Peace), and the APTF (Association for the Promotion of True Family Movement),” he said. APTF (Association for the Promotion of the True Family Movement) and other organizations have been repeatedly criticized by the media and opposition forces as front organizations provided as a cover for the United Federation of Family Association of Japan.

After prefacing his remarks with the following, he explained the relationship between the Faith and its affiliated organizations, showing a diagram (the first and second images).

To explain the current situation, I would like to explain about firewalls, firewalls. The wall is built to prevent the group from being held responsible for any trouble that may occur. The wall on the left side is to prevent the religious organizations from being held responsible for any so-called troubles, such as “psychic sales,” “illegal evangelism,” “high donations,” and some criminal cases.

And what is the firewall on the right side, whether it is UPF, Katsudo Rengo, or any other organization, is not the church itself but an independent entity. That’s where the ministers, legislators, and heads of state were involved, and they were not the Unification Church itself, so they were not responsible for the problems that the church caused, and we managed to make this wall work so that the legislators and politicians would be protected by it.”

But that firewall collapsed in the wake of the shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Uotani continued.

The firewall has been completely breached,” Uotani said. We are now in a situation where there is no excuse for emphasizing the firewall and saying that we were only involved with related organizations, and we are now being pursued.

These statements by Secretary General Uotani can be taken to imply that the Church and its affiliated organizations are one and the same, separated only by a firewall. Journalist Aito Suzuki, who has been pursuing the cult for many years, said.

Mr. Uoya, who is supposed to be an executive of the “affiliated group,” attends meetings of the cult and shares information about the critical situation using words such as “firewall. This in itself is the best evidence of the unity of the Church and other related organizations.”

Regarding the reason for Secretary General Uoya’s attendance at the conference, the former Unification Church responded to an interview with this magazine as follows.

The purpose of the “Special Net Conference” is to share the damage caused by media reports, and since the damage could naturally extend to our friends, we asked Shunsuke Uoya, Secretary General of the UPF, to attend the conference on behalf of our friends (who are actually affected). We have also been joined by UPF Secretary General Shunsuke Uotani on behalf of the friendly organizations.

1.83 million yen in donations to Korea

As was the case with Secretary General Uotani’s speech, what oozed throughout the “Net Conference” was the sense of crisis that the denomination is facing. The head of the Public Relations Department, who appeared early in the meeting, was

Masaki Kito (lawyer), Hiroshi Yamaguchi (lawyer), Yoshio Arita (journalist), and Aito Suzuki, we have been taking legal action against them and sending letters of protest to them as needed. We have received some complaints that these things don’t seem to be working, but we are doing everything we can.

He criticized the pursuing lawyers and journalists by name. Chairman Tanaka also criticized

We are going to take serious measures to deal with the labeling of these groups as ‘antisocial groups’ and ‘cults.

Tanaka also stated, “We will be taking full-fledged action from now on to deal with the labeling of ‘antisocial organizations’ and ‘cult groups.

If this situation continues, the “juridical personality” of the organization may be revoked. The church then proposed a press conference held on September 22 to show the reform of the church.

The head of the “Headquarters for Promoting Church Reform” was Teshigawara Hideyuki , a.k.a. ” Tessie,” who gained attention 30 years ago when he participated in a joint wedding ceremony with a famous former athlete.

The reason why Chairman Tanaka did not attend the press conference was largely due to Friday’s report. If he was asked about the truth of what he said at the “Net Conference,” he would have no way to answer the question.

So why did Mr. Teshigawara get the white feather?

Mr. Teshigahara, a Kyoto University graduate and an elite securities executive, began working at the head office of the Church about 10 years ago. Some members of the congregation, who have long been devoted to the mission as employees of the mission, view him as an outsider. However, he is currently in charge of the personnel and financial affairs of the organization and has a good grasp of its overall structure. He is also one of the most prominent educators in the church, and organizes training sessions twice a year for 40 days to teach the doctrines of the former Unification Church, mainly to younger members of the church. He must have been selected because he is a person who can answer the doctrines of the church without hesitation when he is questioned by the press at a press conference. Of course, I think another reason is that he is familiar with the mass media because of the joint wedding incident.

At the press conference, Mr. Teshigahara explained that he would thoroughly enforce compliance, which was strengthened in 2009, and provide guidance to prevent excessive donations from occurring. However, some active believers who watched the press conference voiced their doubts.

The Korean headquarters has asked all Japanese believers to donate 1.83 million yen for the construction of the “Sacred Hall” to be completed in Korea in May next year (see related article). If they said they would not make excessive donations, I wish they would have said ‘stop’ on that occasion. In the first place, most of the donations in recent years have not been in the form of buying things, but in the form of “Ancestral Rejoicing,” in which the sins of one’s ancestors are released through donations. The donation amount is determined by the Korean headquarters. Unless the amount of the quota from Korea is clearly stated and explained, it is hard to believe that reform will really progress.

In fact, during the “Net Conference” on August 19, President Tanaka made the following statement regarding direct donations by believers to Korea.

The amount of money for the Ancestral Reformation is not decided by the Japanese headquarters, but by the head temple of the World Headquarters, so it is natural that Japanese shokuguchi (believers) go to Korea to offer donations for the Ancestral Reformation. We do not control the donations made by Korean churches.

If the Church were to review the donations made only to the Japanese corporation, it would be a token reform. Believers who have believed in and devoted themselves to the Church are closely watching the attitude of the upper management.

*Some of the statements made at the “Net Conference” have been abridged to the extent that the content is not compromised.

FRIDAY” October 14, 2022 issue