Sanctuary followers’ campaign to “remove Ishiba from office! Sanctuary believers’ campaign to “remove Ishiba” in the general election causes police to be dispatched to the area.

Calls for “Down with Ishiba!

On November 11, a special session of the Diet was convened and both houses of the Diet held nomination elections for prime minister. 67-year-old Shigeru Ishiba of the Liberal Democratic Party was elected as the 103rd prime minister in a decisive vote against 67-year-old Yoshihiko Noda of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

The reason for this major struggle can be traced to the recent general election. The Liberal Democratic Party and New Kōmeitō won 215 seats, falling short of their targeted majority of 233 seats for the first time in 15 years.

The election was also marked by the loss of some big names. Justice Minister Hideki Makihara (53), Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Minister Yasuhiro Kozato (66), and other cabinet ministers as well as former Defense Agency Director General Seijiro Eto (83), who had supported Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru in the presidential election, also lost their elections, which was a major blow to Prime Minister Ishiba.

Conservative voters who drifted away from the LDP are believed to have voted for the National Democratic Party of Japan, the Japan Conservative Party, and other parties, and the Japan Conservative Party has now won its first seat in the Diet.

Lawmakers supporting Prime Minister Ishiba suffered a painful blow, and the KDP and the Japan Conservative Party increased their seats. Some forces were calling for voting behavior consistent with this trend. They are the followers of the Sanctuary Society, an offshoot of the former Unification Church.

The Sanctuary Church is headquartered in the United States, and its founder, Moon Myung Jin, is an ardent supporter of former President Trump (78). The followers have participated in demonstrations in support of Trump in Japan and the U.S., and have also held street protests in support of Sanae Takaichi, 63, the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and other conservative politicians who oppose selective surnames, same-sex marriage, and other traditional views of the family.

Some followers of Sanctuary, who saw the general election as a chance to revive Mr. Takaichi, who lost the presidential election, have posted on the Internet a document regarding their voting policy that was prepared by the Sanctuary’s affiliate, the Japan-US-Korea Council Policy Proposal Study Team, along with suspicious documents titled “Diet Members Who Voted for Shigeru Ishiba in 2024 Decisive Vote” and “Diet Members Who Voted for Sanaae Takaichi in 2024 Decisive Vote. The following is an excerpt from the document.

The following is an excerpt from the document.

2024/10/10
The Trilateral Council Policy Proposal Study Team

The following is an excerpt from the document.

In order to say “NO” to the Ishiba administration in the upcoming general election on October 27, and to seek the establishment of a Takaichi administration as soon as possible, we would like to make this proposal with the hope that each member will use it as a reference for his or her own free and responsible voting policy, and for encouraging his or her family members and other friends and acquaintances to vote for him or her.

◾️ Voting Policy

Vote for the candidates of the Sangyo Party, the National Democratic Party of Japan, the Japan Conservative Party, etc. in the constituencies of the candidates who voted for Mr. Shigeru Ishiba in the final round of voting.

We will vote for the candidate who was selected by the final round of voting for Councilor Sanae Takaichi.

In the proportional district, I will vote for the Liberal Democratic Party, or the Upper House, the National Democratic Party, the Japan Conservative Party, and so on.

In districts where there are no suitable candidates, we will vote for candidates who we think are close to our ideas.

The documents, “Diet members who voted for Shigeru Ishiba in the 2024 runoff election” and “Diet members who voted for Sanae Takaichi in the 2024 runoff election,” which were uploaded with the document, were spread on several social networking sites, including Sanctuary followers, Takaichi’s supporters, and people believed to be supporters of the Japan Conservative Party.

Sanae Takaichi’s office is perplexed by the “possibility of an attempt on her life.

When asked about these “proposals” and the “list of lawmakers,” the Japan Sanctuary Association responded that they were “not official views” but were “proposals made by volunteers, ” and stated as follows.

The “recommendations” you asked about are neither the official position of the Japan Sanctuary Association nor that of the Japan-U.S.-Korea Council. It is a proposal made by volunteers to members who are wondering how they should vote in the upcoming elections. The “The The “Council Member List” materials were obtained by volunteers from conservative influencers.

Sanae Takaichi’s office was also aware of the “downing of Ishiba” campaign and responded, “We are very puzzled.

During the House of Representatives election, I was contacted by about three camps of LDP candidates and learned that there was such a movement (campaign to oust lawmakers who voted for Mr. Ishiba) and labeling (as the Takaichi faction and the Ishiba faction).

Since this information comes from an LDP candidate, I do not know if it is the same as the “proposal” you are asking about or if it is related to Sanctuary. I do not know of any organization called Sanctuary and have no contact with them. Regarding this matter, Takaichi expressed his own thoughts on X” (Sanae Takaichi’s office).

In X, Takaichi wrote the following.

I have been on a nationwide tour with no time to check the Internet, including the news, but yesterday I heard a painful story. I heard several stories about people who said they would not vote for LDP candidates who supported candidates other than me in last month’s LDP presidential election. The candidate’s camp contacted my secretary.

The House of Representatives election that we are now fighting is an election to choose the government. The LDP candidates, including myself, are working hard to win as many seats as possible so that the LDP can continue to be trusted to steer the nation, while accepting the various criticisms of the LDP.

If we lose seats in the Diet and become an opposition party, it will be difficult to realize the policies I have been advocating through legislation. Therefore, yesterday and today, I am also supporting the candidates who were in other camps in the presidential election, and I hope that you will support them as well. I would like to ask for your kind attention.

Mr. Takaichi, who has long been supported by some followers of the former Unification Church on social networking sites, has been the subject of a security guard. Sanae Takaichi’s office also claimed , “We cannot deny the possibility that we may incur unjustified resentment from posts on the Internet and that we may be targeted for our lives. It is unusual for a member of the Diet who does not hold a key position in the party to be subject to police protection.

Announcement of military training on the official website

We asked journalist Eito Suzuki, who has covered the former Unification Church for 30 years, for his views on the Sanctuary Church’s “movement to support Takaichi and to bring down Ishiba.

The Sanctuary Church of Japan (Japan Sanctuary Association) is pro-Trump and ardently pro-Republican in the U.S., and seems to be planning to infiltrate the conservative camp in Japan as well. The Sanctuary Church is an offshoot of the Unification Church, but the current Han Hakko faction, the former Unification Church (Family Federation for World Peace and Unification), also seems to view the LDP presidential election and the US presidential election as turning points for the denomination.

It is natural that the Sanctuary Church, which is ideologically similar, would shoulder the conservative-colored Sanae Takaichi. The Japan-U.S.-Korea Council is a political organization headed by Sanctuary Church President Yasue Erikawa. It has been holding nationwide demonstrations in support of Trump with a group of people related to the Sanctuary Society. It is part of the so-called “J-Anon.

So there is a possibility that sanctuaries could cause riots or terrorist attacks?

Sanctuaries are very much gun worshipers. Notices of military training have been posted on the official website, so there is no reason to say that there is no concern that this could lead to militarization or terrorism.

During the last attack on the U.S. Congress by Q’anon over the U.S. President, Sanctuary Church leader Moon Kyung-sin did not take part in the attack, but he attended a rally in front of the U.S. Capitol building. He posted a video of the rally on Instagram.

We sincerely hope that this “assertion of ideology through violence” terror attack will not happen.