Japan PM Fumio Kishida orders probe into Unification Church links to ruling party members

After Shinzo Abe's assassination in July exposed tight ties between the Unification Church and politicians from the ruling party, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced an investigation into the organisation on Monday.

As a result of mounting resentment that members of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) did not properly disclose their connections to the church, support for Kishida's government has fallen to its lowest point since he took office a year ago.

Now, he has instructed the culture minister to prepare an investigation into the church under the Religious Corporations Act. Kishida told parliament: "I want to resolve issues related to the church."

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But he refrained from commenting on when it would end. He said: "The government will clarify the situation, offer relief measures to the victims and take steps to prevent a similar situation happening again."

Kishida expressed regret over the reports that many LDP members had connections to the religion, which he claimed damaged public confidence in the government.

He also stated he was "taking seriously" claims that the organisation had left many of its adherents destitute, frequently with their families in disarray.

Hiroshi Yamaguchi, a lawyer who has worked on cases against the church, claims that in order to draw members and achieve credibility, the church developed relationships with Japanese politicians.

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