Editorial: Moriyama unfit as Japan culture minister after Unification Church ties emerge

Japan’s education and culture minister Masahito Moriyama is said to have received support from a group affiliated with the Unification Church during the 2021 House of Representatives election. Yet the minister has reiterated dishonest answers to Diet questions over the matter and failed to fulfill his accountability for his relationship with the church, formally the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. Obviously, he is not fit to serve as culture minister, whose role is to oversee religious administration.

The Asahi Shimbun has reported that Moriyama received a letter of recommendation from the affiliate group, along with a photo of him holding the document. The national daily followed up by reporting a testimony by an individual concerned that Moriyama signed a paper confirming the recommendation, which is a de facto “policy agreement” with the group.

In a September 2022 survey by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party regarding connections between its lawmakers and the Unification Church, Moriyama answered that he once gave a speech at a meeting of an affiliate group. He did not report on having received electoral support.

What is unpalatable is Moriyama’s explanation. During a House of Representatives budget committee session on Feb. 7, he stated, “Looking at the photo, I came to remember vaguely.” He added, “I might have signed the document without reading its content well,” referring to the policy agreement.

Yet the following day, he repeatedly said, “I have no recollection,” and reversed his earlier statements by saying, “I don’t remember if I signed it or not.” He claimed that he disposed of all of the recommendation letters he received from more than 200 groups and others for the general election, and that he cannot confirm being presented with them as he did not create a list of those documents.

Diet question and answer sessions are where ministers and other senior officials are supposed to give their explanations to the representatives of the people. For Moriyama to backpedal on his remarks so easily suggests he does not understand the gravity of statements made in the legislature.

Even if he does not recall or has no record, he can find out by simply asking the church. To refuse to confirm the facts about his own allegations under the pretext of having severed his ties with the religious group is nothing more than deceptive logic.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has filed a request with the Tokyo District Court that it order the Unification Church to disband. Hearings on the request are soon to commence. If the top ministry official is found to have signed a document to promote policy measures advocated by the controversial group, questions will be raised over whether the court can proceed with fair examinations.

Some of the church’s victims including those who were coerced to make massive donations have complained that they cannot fight on with the group as long as Moriyama stays on as minister.

Now that another point of contact between the minister and the church has emerged, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida should dismiss him unless Moriyama himself provides an explanation. If the matter is left unaddressed, public distrust in politics will only keep growing.

The latest development has exposed the shoddy nature of the LDP’s in-house survey relying on self-reporting. A thorough re-investigation is imperative if the party is to put an end to its longtime relationship with the Unification Church.