GOOD NEWS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN JAPAN!

In 2010 and 2011 WFWP USA was involved intensely in raising awareness of faith-breaking issues in Japan. Members of WFWP who were also members of the Unification Church had been discriminated against for their faith, and had been detained against their will in secluded apartments for weeks and months and sometimes for years. In the case of women, many were also sexually abused, emotionally abused, and disrespected. Altogether 80 percent of the more than 4,300 Unification Church members who were kidnapped in Japan since 1966 were women.

One of the most extreme cases was that of a young man, Mr. Toru Goto, who has now finally been vindicated.

Mr. Goto, a Unification Church member, was forcibly kidnapped in September 1995 by three of his family members and two professional deprogrammers, Takashi Miyamura and Yasutomo Matsunage, and held for 12 years and 5 months in an unsuccessful attempt to break his faith. He was finally thrown out onto a street in February 2008. He was invited by WFWP to speak at the 2010 WFWP National Assembly in New York, where he addressed human rights and religious freedom issues.

Finally, on January 28, 2014, a Japanese court ruled in favor of Mr. Goto's sixth deposition filed in a civil suit against his captors and deprogrammers. He sued three members of his family and two deprogrammers and was awarded an amount equivalent to about $47,000. At a press conference after the verdict, Mr. Goto said, "I am pleased by the single point that the culpability of deprogrammer Takashi Miyamura has been recognized."

Unfortunately, the outcome is bittersweet because already in January 2014 there have been two more known cases of religious kidnapping in Japan.

You can read more about the case here:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/31/man-wins-landmark-lawsuit-on-religious-oppression/.

Watch for a more comprehensive article in the March 2014 newsletter.