More reports about the assassin's motivations, with more vague wording about a "certain group" (特定の団体) that he hated and associated with Abe. This is even more vague than earlier reports that suggested it was a religious group. 1/
2/ Many social media users are filling in the blanks and guessing: one of the trending terms on Twitter in Japan is "Unification Church" - the name of a religious organization founded in Korea that had its Nara branch at the station where Abe was shot.
3/ The Unification Church has members in many countries, including Japan, and has supported conservative political causes. It is no secret that Abe Shinzo, Donald Trump, and other politicians have been friendly towards the church. (images from a 2021 Unification Church event)
4/ During the current Upper House election campaign, Abe's connection to the Unification Church has been mentioned by fringe candidates as a reason to believe the LDP is under "foreign" influence:
5/ As this photo from a magazine article shows, Abe had ties to a sizable list of religious organizations. Like many democracies around the world, Japan is a country in which conservative religious groups support conservative politicians.
6/ Another religious group that has faced negative attention in this election is Soka Gakkai, which backs the Komeito party, the coalition partner of Abe's LDP. A few days ago I noted how a nationalistic LDP politician was distancing herself from Komeito:
7/ Japanese police/media are facing a very unpleasant situation. If they report the details of what the shooter is saying, it could increase hate towards a specific group, towards all new religious movements, and/or towards foreigners.
8/ The Abe assassination is a shocking event for Japan - the most famous politician in the country has been killed. Regardless of what the assassin says or what the media reports, such an event will be a major topic for conspiracy theorists (think JFK or 911).
9/ The vague wording being used by police/media is probably meant to avoid discrimination against that group. However, this will also fuel conspiratorial beliefs that the group in question has power over the Japanese government and media, and is covering-up the truth.
10/ Here is another relevant example from the current election campaign. This NHK Party politician went off the rails during a TV debate with a rant about Soka Gakkai/the Unification Church. He closed with a "It's Abe's fault" song.
11/ Kurokawa Atsuhiko is part of fringe political party, but in the interest of fair elections he is given air time on TV. Here's a video of him calling the Unification Church an "anti-Japanese cult," blaming Abe, and saying he will "crush Jew money" - youtube.com
12/ For those who are interested, here is a video of the remarks that Trump delivered to a Unification Church event in 2021. He mentions the Washington Times, a conservative newspaper founded by a company associated with the church. youtube.com
13/ And here is an English-dubbed video of Abe Shinzo's remarks to the same Unification Church event.
14/ The acting leader of the Unification Church was not in Japan yesterday (as far as I know). However, Hyung Jin Moon, leader of the Sanctuary Church, a Unification Church offshoot known for its love of crowns and AR-15's, is currently in Japan for a speaking tour.
15/ On January 6, 2021 I filmed a "Stop the Steal" march in Tokyo. Organizers and participants in such marches were associated with several new religious organizations - including Falun Gong, Happy Science, and the Sanctuary Church.
16/ An article from Shūkan Bunshun dropped more details: the suspect's mother was a member of a religious group, but he left it to join a sect that was in conflict with the original group. No names, but it sounds like it could be the Sanctuary Church.
17/The timing seems right if this is indeed a shooting in which Abe was targeted because of his association with one side in a religious conflict. In recent weeks the the clash in Japan between the old Unification Church and the new Sanctuary Church seems to have been heating up.
18/ Hyung Jin Moon's visit to Japan looks like an effort to expand the influence of his sect. Videos are floating around online that show Unification Church supporters being expelled from his events. Here is one video, allegedly filmed in Kyushu: youtube.com
19/ Here is an additional video clip of conflict breaking out during when Rev. Hyung Jin Moon is speaking to followers, apparently filmed at a June 25 event in Tokyo. youtube.com
20/ As @NathanielMSmith has noted, if the suspect was a member of the Sanctuary Church, his possession of a gun makes more sense. According to this 2018 Vice News report, its members "believe they need guns to build God's Kingdom on Earth." youtube.com
21/ It should be noted that the LDP's cooperation with the Unification Church dates back to the 1960s, when Abe's grandfather saw them as allies in the fight against Communism. Here is a page with info drawn from a 2001 article by Richard J. Samuels: asyura2.com
22/ A quick note: if you buy into the theory that this shooting was motivated by the suspect's hatred of a specific religious sect, that doesn't necessarily mean this was "not political," especially if it involves religions that are deeply involved in politics.
23/ I have received a few replies along the lines of, "What about Nippon Kaigi, that's a cult, right?" -Not quite. It's a nationalistic political lobbying group that was founded with support from the Association of Shinto Shrines and the new religion Seicho no Ie.
24/ Abe had close ties with Nippon Kaigi leaders who were associated with Seicho no Ie, so it isn't entirely outside the realm of possibility here. It also has some splinter sects. But I am not aware of Abe openly praising one particular sect involved in that dispute.
35/ Another day passes, and no new info? The Japanese media could be waiting for a major international media outlet to run a story with taboo information first so that it can they can "report" what was probably already an open secret in media circles.
26/ While the involvement of the Unification Church has been the most popular theory on social media, there are many other possibilities. Wikipedia lists over 100 in the "Japanese new religions" category, and even those aren't the only possibilities: ja.wikipedia.org
27/ Trending on Twitter in Japan now: "Voting for the LDP is what the Unification Church wants" ( #自民党に投票すると統一教会の思う壺)
28/ A link to an article in which I commented on this thread's topic and a Sanctuary Church spokesperson claimed to have no information indicating the shooter was a member of their faith:
29/ It's out! Gendai Business has reported the suspect's mother was a member of the Unification Church: news.yahoo.co.jp
30/ A quote from the suspect: "I targeted Abe because he's friendly with the Unification Church" 「統一教会と安倍が親しいので狙った。」Also a quote from the suspect stating that the motive was "not political." This makes no sense because Abe's ties to the church were political.
More from the article: It was an "open secret" in Nagatacho that Abe his group of lawmakers were very close with the Unification Church. Church leaders say that certain lawmakers won elections thanks to "our votes."
32/ Although another media outlet reported earlier today that the shooter had quit his mother's religion and joined a splinter group, this Gendai Business article only mentions the mother's donating ruinous amounts of money to the church as a possible cause of his grudge.
33/ A new story today from the tabloid Flash: It also says Yamagami's mother was in the Unification Church. It mentions the theory that the shooting could be related to the Sanctuary Church is being investigated, but is still just a matter of speculation.
news.yahoo.co.jp
news.yahoo.co.jp
34/ Flash quotes a man who claims to have talks to Yamagami about his troubles win the Unification Church. He says Yamagami was angry about his mother being scammed and believed that police would not go after the Church because of its close relationship with Abe.
35/ A new article from Nifty also name drops the Unification Church, citing an anonymous Nagatacho insider, who downplayed Abe's relationship with the Church as just a politician being friendly towards a group that can deliver votes. news.nifty.com
36/ A very good thread from @wdavidmarx on how online news aggregation sites are exposing and undermining the Japan's mainstream media "cartel."
37/ An official statement from the Unification Church:
"We condemn this act of violence. Guns have no place in our religious beliefs or practices."
finance.yahoo.com
"We condemn this act of violence. Guns have no place in our religious beliefs or practices."
finance.yahoo.com
38/ An update from the AP stating that some Japanese media are reporting that the mother's religion was the Unification Church - by @mariyamaguchi apnews.com
39/ The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's biggest newspaper, has a new story: It doesn't mention the name of the religion, but claims the suspect saw an online video of Abe sending a greeting to the group and concluded that Abe was linked to it. yomiuri.co.jp
40/ It repeats the claim that the suspect did not have a grudge over Abe's "political beliefs" (政治信条). OK - but that video existed precisely because of Abe's political belief in politically cooperating with the UC, a religious group that is extremely active in politics.
41/ Another Japanese "tabloid", Flash, stating that they have confirmed that the suspect's mother was a member of the Unification Church. news.yahoo.co.jp
42/ The Sanctuary Church has released a Japanese language statement absolutely disavowing any connection to the shooting suspect:
43/ The Washington Post has confirmed that the Abe assassination suspect's mother is a member of the Unification Church: "Motives of Abe’s alleged killer, link to religious group under scrutiny" by @myhlee washingtonpost.com
44/ Next up to confirm that the suspect's mother is a member of the Unification Church - Tokyo Sports Shimbun. Their article says the Church will hold a press conference tomorrow. news.yahoo.co.jp
45/ Stars and Stripes is running its own version of the Washington Post story I am quoted in (link for people who could not read the WaPo story due to the paywall): stripes.com
46/ Here is an NHK story from today that does not the religion but states that Yamagami recently practiced shooting a gun at one of the religion's facilities. A bizarre detail that definitely needs more explaining. www3.nhk.or.jp
47/ Gendai Business has a new story on the Unification Church connection. It says Yamagami's mother bankrupted herself when he was 20 years old after giving too much money to the Church. news.yahoo.co.jp
48/ The same article states that his mother donated the money that was supposed to pay for Yamagami's university tuition to the church, forcing him to drop out early without graduating.
49/ Gendai's article closes by noting there will be a UC press conference tomorrow and teasing that there might be more details to come related to "guns and the UC." (「銃」と「統一教会」という事件の闇は、今後どう解き明かされていくのか、その展開は見逃せない。)
50/ A new article from another tabloid, Nikkan Gendai - They interviewed someone who knew Yamagami's mother, who says that her huge donations to the Unification Church included long trips to Korea. news.yahoo.co.jp
51/ Nikkan Gendai also reports that the Abe assassination took place within a 5 minute walk of the Nara branch of the Unification Church. A UC spokesperson is quoted saying that the mother has attended services, but has not do so as much since the pandemic.
52/ Another story, this time from Courier Japon- the headline notes that the American Media (Washington Post) has name dropped the group that the Japanese media "won't report" news.yahoo.co.jp
53/ The Mainichi Shimbun becomes the first media outlet to name drop the Unification Church. It is just a short article noting that the church will give a press conference from 2pm (right now) news.yahoo.co.jp
54/ The media blackout is now over - major Japanese media outlets are now running stories that name the church. (More details later today - I am going to be teaching for the next few hours)
55/ The media blackout is over, but it looks like NHK's coverage is wildly misleading and making it sound like Yamagami wrongly believed that Abe had ties to the UC. (一方的な思い込み)
56/ Kyodo News has an article up pointing out how the French Newspaper Les Echos has an article referring to the Unification Church as a "cult." Japanese media is not using such a term. news.yahoo.co.jp
57/ For French readers, here is a link to the Les Echos article, in which I am quoted arguing against the idea that this attack was "not political" : lesechos.fr
58/ The most-viewed article on Japan's Yahoo News portal today is a Tulip-TV piece interviewing former members of the Unification Church who say their families were pressured into donating huge amounts of money. news.yahoo.co.jp
59/ Another disturbing example of a Japanese media outlet (MBS) that has broken its silence about the Unification Church, but is portraying its connections with Abe as "unreliable information" (不確実な情報) the suspect found online.
60/ An editorial from Gendai Business, the first tabloid to publish an article naming the UC, on the lamentable state of Japanese media. The mainstream media's decision not to report key facts is an act of institutional "suicide": news.yahoo.co.jp
61/ More details from the suspect: he tried to attack Unification Church leader Hak Ja Han during her 2019 visit to Japan, but he could not enter the members-only event. Later chances to attack her were thwarted by COVID-19 border restrictions.
62/ Tabloid Daily Shincho has an article up reminding people of its past coverage of the Unification Church. Over 60 Japanese lawmakers sent messages to one UC event held in 2015, including Hatoyama Kunio and Kamei Shizuka. news.yahoo.co.jp
63/ The text of both politicians' messages can be found on this website. Hatoyama's message praised them for fighting against communism. dailycult.blogspot.com
64/ Nihon TV report: The National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales says the UC is not telling the truth about measures taken after 2009 to prevent abuses. They point to post-2009 court decisions. news.yahoo.co.jp
65/ A follow-up to #46 in this thread. The "practice" shooting was at 4AM and aimed at the side of a UC building. He also says he practiced shooting somewhere out in the mountains. youtube.com
66/ A 10-minute report from Asahi TV - It says Yamagami targeted Abe because he believed Abe's grandfather, Kishi Nobusuke, helped bring the Unification Church to Japan. He also saw Abe's video message to a church event. youtube.com
67/ In response, clips of a UC spokesman denying any special relationship with Kishi and saying that Abe's video message was sent to "different" friendship organization. The report does not have anyone providing a rebuttal to these misleading statements.
68/ While Kishi Nobusuke did not "bring" the Unification Church to Japan, he was a significant supporter of it in its early days in Japan. It is disappointing that this Asahi TV report failed to clarify this point.
69/ It is harmful when media outlets fail to adequately explain the political relationship between Kishi/Abe and the UC, a relationship that is well-documented and 100% real. Not shedding light on it creates a darkness in which conspiracy theories thrive.
70/ A Fuji TV report from today about Yamagami "thought" there was a connection between Abe and a "religious group" after watching Abe's video message to that "group" online. The group is not named. youtube.com
71/ Fuji TV reported yesterday on the UC press conference that announced that Yamagami's mother was a member. But for some reason they are still leaving the name of the group out of newer reports on the investigation into the assassination. fnn.jp
72/ Another example from Fuji TV (uploaded at 12:13 AM today). It straight-up shows us footage from Abe's video to a "religious group's friendship organization" without mentioning the name of the religion or the group. fnn.jp
73/ Yomiuri Shimbun reporting that the suspect's mother sold off family assets and donated about 1 million dollars to the church.
74/ According to the Daily Shincho: the suspect's father committed suicide, possibly due to the mother's involvement in the “Practical Ethics” (実践倫理宏正会) religious organization. She later switched to UC after the father's death. dailyshincho.jp
75/ The same story says Yamagami's uncle was able to recover a large amount of the money that Yamagami's mother donated to the UC, but after returning it to her, she re-donated it. Yamagami's older brother later committed suicide, and Yamagami attempted to kill himself too.
76/ Nikkan Gendai interviewed the former secretary of LDP politician Fukuda Takeo (PM in the 1970s). He says that UC sent young women to lawmakers' offices as unpaid volunteer workers. He didn't think it was strange because it was well known that Kishi was friends with Rev. Moon.
77/ He also said that most LDP lawmakers supported Rev. Moon's International Federation for Victory over Communism back then, and that the LDP-UC relationship has probably continued until today. nikkan-gendai.com
78/ A report from Nihon TV shows what police believe to be one of the projectiles fired from the suspects gun, lodged into a wall 90 meters away from where he fired. (they also name the UC) - youtube.com
79/ Another interesting report from NTV, with lawyers from the National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales showing items the UC sells to believers- a $30,000+ holy book and $20,000+ temple to house your ancestors' spirits? youtube.com
80/ We also get a look at the infamous super special holy book, available to devout believers who could pay 30 million yen (over 200,000 dollars).
81/ Trending in the Kanto region at the moment: "the LDP and the Unification Church - a taboo (topic) in postwar history " with over 33,000 tweets. #戦後史のタブー自民党と統一教会
82/ Lawyer Kitō Masaki (@masaki_kito) talking about the LDP/UC connection a morning show (Asahi TV?): Rev. Moon's tax fraud conviction in the US should have barred him from entering Japan, but Kanemaru Shin of the LDP helped arrange an exception in 1993:
83/ Kitō also said that some Unification Church members have concealed their religious status when becoming secretaries for lawmakers, and he believes there might have been some LDP lawmakers who were Church members.
84/ A 1957 photo of a young Shinzo Abe playing with grandpa Kishi Nobusuke - just a few years later the building behind them became the Unification Church's Tokyo headquarters and would host Rev. Moon's first visit to Japan.
85/ I was just watching NHK's 7pm news (NHKニュース7) and it introduced the Yamagami's claim that he originally wanted to kill Unification Church leader Hak Ja Han, failed to get a chance, and killed Abe instead. However, NHK did not say the name of the UC or its leader.
86/ An Asahi TV report on YouTube: Yamagami's uncle was interviewed about how the suspect's mother donated huge amounts of money to the UC. It also mentions Yamagami's suicide attempt in 2005, when he hoped his siblings could get his life insurance money. youtube.com
87/ Also in the Asahi TV report - footage of Yamagami in Okayama a few days before the attack on Abe. He said he had a 3-shot gun ready to attack Abe at an election event in Okayama city, but gave up because security was checking everyone's bags.
88/ Yamagami's mother has been bedridden at the uncle's house since her son's arrest. She apparently is not saying much about her thoughts on the news, at least to Yamagami's uncle, who clearly resents what the Unification Church did to his family.
89/ Fuji TV also uploaded a video about the same story, in which its announcers bizarrely only use the term "religious group" instead of directly saying the UC's name - even though the video shows the name on a UC building and the uncle says its name. fnn.jp
90/ Here's how NHK reported it - its announcer in this video clip would not name the religion - just a "religious group" (宗教団体). But at the end of this video there is a clip of the uncle saying its name. www3.nhk.or.jp
91/ The main body of the article on NHK's website also uses "religious group." However, there is an added section at the bottom naming the UC and including a statement of denial from a church spokesperson (without any extra explanation or rebuttal).
92/ Let's evaluate another major TV network - Nihon TV also has a video up about Yamagami's uncle. They clearly and directly use the name of the Unification Church and aired harsh comments about the church from the uncle. youtube.com
93/ And another example, from MBS - This also names the religion, includes the uncle's harsh statements about what the UC did to his family, and has comments from an acquaintance of the mother, recalling how she was telling people that the UC "saved" her. mbs.jp
94/ What are the political leanings of these TV channels? To generalize based on the newspapers affiliated with each station: Asahi TV (left), MBS (center), Nihon TV (conservative), and Fuji TV (to the right of Yomiuri/Nihon TV).
95/ NHK, the national broadcaster of Japan, has a legal obligation to be politically "neutral." This often results in a style of reporting that is extremely dull and avoids presenting politically contentious viewpoints.
96/ Nikkan Gendai on how 112 lawmakers have ties to the Unification Church. For example:Aso Taro, Suga Yoshihide, Kishi Nobuo, Kato Katsunobu, Takaichi Sanae, Hosoda Hiroyuki, Ishiba Shigeru, Inada Tomomi, Yamatani Eriko, Maehara Seiji, Nakatani Gen,etc. news.yahoo.co.jp
97/ The connections mentioned are mostly in the form of congratulatory messages sent to UC or UC-affiliated groups. It may "only be a message," but these kinds of endorsements helps the UC convince believers that it is a not a harmful organization.
98/ Meanwhile, some pro-Abe Twitter accounts tried to "protect Abe's honor" by organizing a specially timed "Twitter demonstration" last night during which they spammed out tweets to counter the "lies" about Abe's connections to the UC. lol.
99/ A former UC believer tells MBS that the church uses prominent politician's video messages as internal propaganda. He said that believers were repeatedly shown such videos and led to believe the politicians were followers of Moon's teachings. youtube.com
100/ Some good reporting from TBS News23 - 8 minutes into this video we can see LDP lawmaker Yoshiyuki Inoue attending a UC event on July 6th and receiving an endorsement from a church leader, who says Inoue shares their beliefs. youtu.be
101/ It has audio of Inoue speaking to UC members about opposition to same-sex marriage. In the past Inoue has claimed that "foreign powers" are threatening the traditional "family form" of Japan. (The UC is a foreign religious organization. ) asia.nikkei.com
102/ From Asahi TV: Yamagami sent a letter to a blogger the day before the attack. It says Abe was targeted for being the real world's "most influential UC sympathizer" and Yamagami "didn't have time to think about" the political impact of Abe's death. youtube.com
103/ NHK today: Journalist Egawa Shoko saying the media and the nation need to consider the harm inflicted by UC, and how politicians are still endorsing UC despite repeated calls by victims' lawyers to stop. (NHK quickly moved on to the next speaker)
104/ Asahi TV has a video up in which a former UC pastor talking about how the church was deeply involved in politics, and instructions came down from the top to support LDP politicians. youtube.com
105/ It also shows a UC affiliate organization's leader at a June 2022 election event with Abe Shinzo and Inoue Yoshiyuki. In 2019 Inoue lost an election without the UC's support, but in 2022 he had the UC's support and won with about twice the votes he got in 2019.
106/ An NHK World news report about what is believed to be Yamagami's Twitter account (@333_hill) -"posts include one saying that the only thing he hates is the Unification Church, so he doesn't care what happens to Abe's administration." www3.nhk.or.jp
107/ About the suspect's alleged choice of "Silent Hill 333" as a Twitter name- in the popular Silent Hill video game franchise there is a fanatical doomsday cult called The Order that believes itself to be the one truth faith.
108/ In his letter to anti-cult blogger/journalist Yonemoto Kazuhiro, Yamagami introduced himself as "まだ足りない"(Not Enough) - it looks he may have been a regular commenter under that handle on Yonemoto's blog posts.
109/ ABC interviews with a man whose mother joined the UC in 2008 shortly after the death of his father. The UC convinced her to donate about 30 million yen ($200k) - almost all of the family's money. The son is suing to get the money back. youtube.com
110/ Yamagami's suspected Twitter account has been suspended. However, backups of his tweets are alread archived on other sites: togetter.com
111/ Ameba TV has this video report about the Unification Church, including an interview with former UC believer Prof. Nakamasa Masaki, who talks about how he was recruited into the religion while a student at Tokyo University. abema.tv
112/ The video also includes Prof. Shimada Hiromi discussing the fundraising and politics of the UC. Interestingly, the Unification Church has a "Professors World Peace Academy"(世界平和教授アカデミー) that sponsors academic researchers. pwpa-j.net
113/ The Professors World Peace Academy publishes a journal. Author names and article titles can be found on its website, but only a few articles are available in PDF form. pwpa-j.net
114/ Another link between the UC and politicians (from the Yomiuri Shimbun): Tamaki Yūichirō, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, received a 30,000 yen donation in 2016 from the president of a UC newspaper, but denies ending any UC events. yomiuri.co.jp
115/ NTV aired this report on a recent blog post by LDP lawmaker Aoyama Shigeharu, in which he acknowledged that within his party it was known that supporting the UC could help candidates who did not have support from other groups. youtube.com
116/ They interviewed Aoyama, asking him to name the LDP faction boss and candidates that his blog post referred to, but he refused to name names. Aoyama, who was one of the most popular LDP candidates in the 2022 election, presumably did not need the UC's support to win.
117/ Osaka governor Yoshimura Hirofumi has acknowledged that some members of his Ishin Party have sent messages to or attended Unification Church-affiliated events, saying that those politicians need to explain their relationship with the UC. mainichi.jp
118/ The Asahi Shimbun has a story up about the LDP-backed mayor of Odawara city in Kanagawa prefecture officially thanking the Unification Church on the city homepage for a donation it made to the city at a charity event. news.yahoo.co.jp
119/ On the one hand, it can be seen as thanks for a generous donation to help the city's children. On the other hand, it could be seen as the mayor helping give the UC positive PR and more potential recruits. Victims' lawyers have criticized the mayor.
120/ Inada Tomomi is now facing criticism for her participation in Unification Church-affiliated events in 2006, 2009, and 2010. She is claiming it was so long ago that she doesn't remember how she ended up at the events or if she knew much about the UC. jisin.jp
121/ Inada's official homepage reported about her attending a Unification Church event and posted a photo of her standing in front of a church banner. At some point after June 2021, that section of her website was removed (due to an update?). web.archive.org
122/ This thread is now way too long, so future tweets about the ongoing media attention to politicians' ties to the UC will be individual tweets unless some major story develops that would merit a new thread.
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