Marriage of Convenience: The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Unification Church and Japan’s LDP

Conference: The Asian Undergraduate Research Symposium (AURS10)
Title: Marriage of Convenience: The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Unification Church and Japan’s LDP
Stream: Political Science: Administration, Governance and Finance
Presentation Type: Virtual Poster Presentation
Authors:
Matthew King, Emory University, United States

Abstract:

The assassination of Shinzo Abe by Tetsuya Yamagami in Tokyo on July 8th, 2022, prompted unprecedented public outcry against the Family Federation for Worldwide Peace and Unification, better known as the Unification Church. Yamagami’s motivations - prime among them being Abe’s ties to the Church, the institution he perceived to be at fault for his mother’s bankruptcy - caused many to question the Church’s ties to the Liberal Democratic Party, but the full extent of their connections remains opaque. With government investigations into the Church’s activities only now beginning, it is of critical importance to ask how this Korean religious organization was able to get so involved in Japanese political affairs. This paper sets out with a threefold purpose: to address the Church’s efforts with the LDP, to understand why the LDP so readily allied themselves with the Church, and how their connection impacts the political landscape of Japan. I begin with a brief historical analysis of the Unification Church’s activities in Japan before proposing a strategy for relieving current tensions. I will conduct my analysis within a political science framework as I attempt to show how the Church’s impacts on actual governance. My intent here is not to propose sweeping solutions or to unduly attack the Church or the LDP, but to establish a better lens through which the fallout of Abe’s assassination can be viewed and how the relationship between the Japanese government and religious organizations may be handled.




Virtual Poster Presentation


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