Taizo Sugimura of “Miyaneya” causes controversy by saying “If it had been Mr. Abe, the bill would have been passed earlier.

If it had been Mr. Abe and Mr. Kan, I think they would have done it earlier.

Taizo Sugimura, a former member of the House of Representatives and “political commentator,” appeared on the December 8 broadcast of “Miyaneya” (NTV). He said that former Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe and Suga Yoshihide would have passed the bill earlier.

The “Victims Relief Bill” would prohibit the use of psychic sales techniques and other methods to induce victims to donate money or to sell real estate or incur debt in order to help victims of high donations to the former Unification Church. The law also includes a duty of care, which prohibits donors from suppressing the free will of individuals to make donations.

Regarding the duty of care, the opposition parties had demanded that whether or not the donors were under mind control be included, but it was agreed that “sufficient” consideration must be given.

On that day, host Seiji Miyane tested positive for a new type of corona and did not appear on the program. The Yomiuri TV announcer Saneho Sawaguchi, who was substituting for the moderator, told the audience

When asked by Yomiuri TV announcer Miho Sawaguchi, acting as host, “You felt the desire to have the bill passed in this Diet session, didn’t you?”

Sugimura replied, “I felt that the ruling and opposition parties had reached a proper agreement.

I think it is good for Japanese politics that the ruling and opposition parties were able to reach a proper agreement.

He then added

If it had been Mr. Abe and Mr. Kan, I think they would have done it earlier. However, I don’t know if the ruling and opposition parties could have reached an agreement (as they did this time).

I am glad that Mr. Kishida’s political style was to listen to the opposition parties until the very end and try to find a compromise where both parties could reach an agreement, so that the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan could finally agree to the bill. There are many people who have the misconception that we are against everything.

He also said that Prime Minister Kishida’s so-called “ability to listen” may have delayed the relief bill.

In response to this, however, Twitter and other media commented

What? It’s the other way around!

If it had been the Abe/Sugan era, of course there would have been no attempt to create a relief bill based on the Unification Church.

If it had been under the Abe/Sugan era, of course they would never have tried to create a relief bill based on the Unification Church,” said one Twitter user.

“I think Mr. Sugimura wanted to compare Mr. Abe’s ‘execution ability’ and Mr. Kishida’s ‘review style’ as a general statement about the bill’s passage, but he is missing the point of putting himself in the shoes of the victims of the Unification Church in the first place. But, in the first place, he is missing the point that he should be sensitive to the feelings of the victims of the Unification Church. Mr. Abe’s video message to the UPF, an affiliate of the Unification Church, in which he praised President Han Hurko, is what made Tetsuya Yamagami decide to commit the crime…. If Mr. Miyane had been in the studio, I have a feeling that he would have rounded off his problematic comments as if he were following up on them.

It may be that Mr. Sugimura did not pay enough attention to the victim….