ENGLISH TRANSLATION HERE: by Fukuoka Citizens' Association for the Protection of Basic Human Rights and Freedom of Religion, Fukuoka city rally 10.20 (AI translation from Japanese) We, the "Fukuoka Citizens' Association for the Protection of Basic Human Rights and Freedom of Religion," strongly protest the government's unjust demand for the dissolution of the Unification Church (hereinafter referred to as the "Church") as a religious corporation. Since the shooting incident involving former Prime Minister Abe last year, there has been extensive media coverage concerning the Church. Reports indicated that the motive of the suspect who committed the crime was to settle a grudge against the Church because his mother had made significant donations. The truth behind the shooting incident was put aside, and it was repeatedly portrayed as if the Church were the cause of the attack on Prime Minister Abe. For some time now, only the voices of lawyers from the National Association of Lawyers for Spiritual Influence Business Countermeasures (hereinafter referred to as the "National Lawyers' Association") and some journalists who have been hostile to the Church, portraying it as a cult and spreading defamatory statements, have been treated as if they were the only truth. Astoundingly, Prime Minister Kishida took this at face value, and in August of last year, he declared the termination of the relationship between the Liberal Democratic Party and the Church for the foreseeable future. He then exercised his right to question and, on October 13th, initiated the demand for the dissolution of the religious corporation. Regarding this request for dissolution, Minister of Education Moriyama referred to the basis of the request, which included seven instances of questioning the Church, documents submitted by the National Lawyers' Association, and interviews with over 170 victims. However, it's important to note that while there have been civil judgments recognizing unlawful acts, there have been no criminal judgments against Church leaders for committing crimes. Furthermore, it's worth mentioning that there have been very few cases of unlawful acts occurring after the 2009 Compliance Declaration. The 2009 Compliance Declaration was a response to a civil judgment that recognized the Church's responsibility for high donations and aimed to prevent any practices that could be misconstrued by the public. It imposed strict regulations on high donations and ensured that this was communicated thoroughly to each church and its followers. Regrettably, there have been extremely rare instances of non-compliance with the declaration, but these are deviations by individual followers and not reflective of the Church's intentions. When examining the Church's conduct since 2009, it's clear that the criteria of "maliciousness," "persistence," and "organizational conduct" required for a dissolution order are not met. What we particularly want to emphasize is that many former followers who have claimed damages for unlawful acts before 2009 were subjected to organized abductions and confinement by groups politically or religiously opposed to the Church. It is a fact that these victims were coerced into renouncing their faith through abductions and confinement with recognized criminality. For example, the case of Teru Goto, whose abduction and confinement lasted an astonishing 12 years and 5 months in a single apartment, was confirmed by the Supreme Court, which ordered the perpetrators to pay 22 million yen. It's important to note that there are as many as 4,300 similar cases of abductions and confinement that the media and the police have unjustly ignored. What has transpired in these cases not only violates the freedom of religion guaranteed by the constitution but also breaches various human rights agreements, including international human rights conventions. The international community, which values religious freedom, has strongly condemned these actions. Furthermore, it is well known that the testimonies of former followers who renounced their faith due to abduction and confinement have been distorted by the bias of being labeled as "apostates" or "converts." In light of the recent request for dissolution, we have numerous concerns. As advocates of human rights who respect the freedom of religion and uphold constitutional principles, we cannot in any way condone this. We aim to shed light on the reality of illegal or unjust oppression and persecution against Unification Church believers condensed in this request for dissolution, and we intend to communicate to society, on every possible occasion, the activities carried out by Unification Church believers for their local communities, our nation, and the world. Additionally, we would like to address the following two issues in this statement: 1. We protest against the unjust declaration by the Kitakyushu City Council that labels the Unification Church as "antisocial" and proclaims the cessation of all relations with it. Simultaneously, we will support the plaintiffs who have filed a lawsuit against the Kitakyushu City Council. 2. Currently, Fukuoka City has prohibited the lending of its facilities to the Unification Church and its affiliated organizations. This decision is not based on any official designation of the Unification Church as an antisocial organization or the issuance of a dissolution order. It constitutes religious discrimination and religious hatred by Fukuoka City. We demand the reversal of this unjust measure by Fukuoka City. October 20, 2023 Fukuoka Assembly for the Protection of Freedom of Religion