According to local media, the Japanese government has requested that a court order the dissolution of a church that was under investigation following the murder of former prime minister Shinzo Abe.

After Abe’s shocking murder in July of last year, the Unification Church, sometimes known as the “Moonies,” came under the spotlight.

Tetsuya Yamagami, who attacked him, claimed the church caused his mother’s bankruptcy and accused Abe of supporting it.

The church claims that because of Abe’s murder, it has unfairly been maligned.

The study lasted a year and was commissioned by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The Unification Church will lose its tax advantages if it is disbanded, but it will still be able to function as an organization.

Yamagami stated that his mother, who had been a member of the church for thirty years, had been coerced into making a donation. Suits costing millions of dollars have been filed in response to charges similar to this.

A religious order may be dissolved in accordance with Japan’s Religious Corporations Law if its actions are “clearly recognised as being substantially detrimental to public welfare.”

The church was previously fined by the Tokyo District Court at the request of the Japanese Ministry of Education for neglecting to provide information about its operations.

Before his passing, there was a lot of discussion about Abe’s relationship with the church, particularly on social media.

In 2021, he spoke remotely at a church-related gathering. The church’s anti-communist attitude is reported to have attracted the grandpa of his grandfather, a previous prime minister.

The Unification Church is renowned for hosting large-scale weddings and was established in South Korea in 1954. In honor of its late founder Sun Myung Moon, its members are most popularly referred to as “Moonies.”

According to academics, it entered Japan in the 1960s and developed relationships with politicians to increase its support and reputation.

Critics have labeled the church as “cult-like” and it has been embroiled in controversy for years.

It has been sued numerous times by members who allege that they were coerced into making donations to the church. According to their attorneys, the complainants have lost at least 5.4 billion yen ($39 million; £33 million) during the last five years.

A Liberal Democratic Party internal inquiry revealed that 179 of the party’s 379 lawmakers had contacts with the Unification Church. The party is led by incumbent Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The Unification Church was then excommunicated by Mr. Kishida, who also emphasized that he had no personal ties to the organization.

After previously refusing requests to do so, he initiated an investigation into the church in October of last year and declared he was “taking seriously” claims that the organization had exploited its members for gain.

According to Professor Yoshihide Sakurai of Hokkaido University, a cult expert and author of a book on the Unification Church, the influence of the “highly problematic” church might be significantly reduced.

According to Prof. Sakurai, the public will grow suspicious of it and it will be seen as shameful for politicians to be involved with it.

The court ruling cannot, however, halt the operations of the group’s numerous linked political and commercial organizations, including newspaper publishing firms, travel agencies, and merchants, he claimed.

According to Prof. Sakurai, the court might not even grant the order for dissolution.

“Thousands of adherents nevertheless insist that they chose to join the church and continue to take part in its activities. It will be challenging for the court to declare the organization wholly criminal given the simultaneous existence of victims and followers, he said.