Since launching his second administration in 2012, Shinzo Abe worked to strengthen the foundations needed for a long-term government.

However, there was a problem: the problem of U.S. military bases in Okinawa.

In 1996, the Japanese and U.S. governments agreed to return the U.S. military’s Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan City.  A plan to relocate the base to Henoko in Nago City later emerged, but stalled due to opposition from Okinawan residents.  For Abe, who had always been obedient to the U.S., the matter was a continuing source of concern.

The Unification Church saw this situation as an opportunity to gain favour with Abe.

In the 2018 Nago mayoral election, the Unification Church supported a candidate endorsed by the Liberal Democratic Party to defeat the incumbent mayor, who opposed the construction of a base in Henoko. The candidate the Church supported won the election.

A Unification Church executive stated in the “TM Special Report”:

“We received messages of appreciation from the LDP administration. It [support of the LDP candidate] served as a major appeal to Prime Minister Abe.”

安倍晋三「統一教会はしつこい」

Shinzo Abe: “The Unification Church is persistent”

Nobusuke Kishi, Shinzo Abe’s grandfather, was a supporter of the Unification Church. The group’s headquarters was even established on the grounds of his former residence, a place where Abe played with his grandfather as a child.

Shinzo Abe’s father, Shintaro, also maintained close ties with the Unification Church. On May 7, 1974, he attended the “Day of Hope banquet” hosted by the Church’s founder, Moon Sun-myung, at the Imperial Hotel, along with Nobusuke Kishi, who served as honorary executive committee chairman.

Nonetheless, Shinzo Abe initially distanced himself from the Unification Church.

Yoshifu Arita, a journalist who has been covering the Unification Church since the 1980s, recalls appearing with Shinzo on Nippon Television’s program, The Wide. At the time Abe was still serving as Secretary-General of the LDP (2003-2004).

Arita asked Abe, who was seated next to him, during the commercial break.

“Has the Unification Church ever approached you?”

Abe replied, “All the time. They’re persistent.”

Arita then asked, “Do you ever meet with them?”

Abe said with a laugh, “No, I don’t.”

“Its reached a point where the LDP heavily relies on us”

Winning over Shinzo Abe’s favour was a persistent challenge for the Unification Church.

Then, there was a mayoral election in Nago, Okinawa in 2018. The incumbent, Susumu Inamine, opposed the relocation of the U.S. military base to Henoko. His opponent, Taketoyo Toguchi, was backed by the LDP, the Komeito, and the Japan Restoration Party.

The Unification Church began supporting Toguchi in an effort to gain favour with the Abe administration. At the previous year’s Japan-US summit, held in Washington, Abe and President Donald Trump had stated that relocation to Henoko was “the only solution.”

Toguchi won with 20,389 votes, while Inamine got 16,931 votes. A huge margin of about 3,500 votes.

On February 4, the day of the election, Unification Church chairman Eiji Tokuno explained the sequence of events in the “TM Report.”

Today in Okinawa, a mayoral election was held in Nago City, Taketoyo Toguchi, the candidate endorsed by the LDP, defeated the progressive incumbent mayor to secure a victory.

 

Within Nago City is the Henoko area, which has been proposed as a relocation site for the U.S. military base in Okinawa. For the past eight years, the progressive mayor has been refusing to accept government Base Burden Support Subsidies in protest of the base relocation, making things difficult for the government.

 

The LDP headquarters has struggled to impress the local residents. They are now relying heavily on us to win this election, depending on our petition drives, pamphlet distribution, and call campaigns which we proposed and continued to then carry out.

Tokuno boasts proudly that as a result of the Unification Church’s support within the election, “we have demonstrated our presence to both the government and to the LDP leadership” and “we have made them strongly aware that we are an organisation which they cannot ignore.”

We sent primarily Okinawan staff from the International Federation for Victory over Communism and Universal Peace Federation headquarters to the site of the election. Together with members of the Collegiate Association from Research of Principles, young students from Kyushu, and young local followers, we conducted a two-week campaign in Nago City. We managed to collect over 5,000 signatures, persuaded the signatories over the phone, and today, it has come to pass through our efforts, that victory has been granted unto us.

 

This will play a decisive role in convincing the LDP leadership that they have no choice by to rely heavily on us in this year’s Okinawa gubernatorial election as well as the mayoral election in the prefecture’s capital, Naha.

 

Of course, the new mayor is not a member of the Church, but I believe he has played a major role in showcasing our influence to the Japanese government and the LDP headquarters. By reinforcing the understanding that we are an organisation that cannot be overlooked, I believe this election has marked a crucial starting point in terms of safeguarding our organisation.

 

The Bishop of Okinawa is a Korean pastor, yet he recognized the significance of this election campaign and took the initiative in effectively guiding his followers, making a major contribution to the victory. While this win is very small in comparison to the larger goal of national reversion, I believe it will be a significant step forward.

He also stated, “This was a great appeal to Prime Minister Abe,” and expressed his gratitude to “True Parents” Moon Sun-myung and Han Hak-ja.

The governor of Okinawa is a Communist sympathiser, and the Chinese Communist Party is providing substantial support behind the scenes. This governor opposes the presence of the U.S. military bases in Okinawa. Recent events have shown that there is a plan for the construction of a key U.S. military base in Nago City, however, the incumbent progressive mayor is strongly opposed to the project alongside the governor, doing so with the governor’s support.

 

Despite these conditions, the LDP candidate we backed won the election, which we believe provided a great defense against the attacks of Satan, including the Chinese Communist Party and the Japanese Communist Party.

 

The LDP government contacted me to express their gratitude for our assistance in this election. I believe this was a great appeal to Prime Minister Abe.

 

I truly believe that the victory in this election is due to the guidance and protection of the Heavenly Parents and the True Parents, and I am very grateful.

Governor Onaga of “All Okinawa” passes away

On August 8, 2018, six months after the Nago mayoral election, Okinawa governor Takeshi Onaga passed away. He was 67 years old.

Onaga was formerly the secretary-general of the LDP’s Okinawa prefectural chapter.  However, he was firmly opposed to the construction of a U.S. military base in Henoko.

Although Okinawa accounts for less than 1% of Japan’s land area, it hosts over 70% of U.S. military facilities in Japan. Onaga was driven by a strong conviction, thinking “Why should Okinawa alone be forced to bear such a heavy burden?”  During the 2018 Nago mayoral election, he traveled to Nago almost daily to support the incumbent Susumu Inamine, who opposed the construction of a new base.

Onaga transcended ideological boundaries such as conservatism and reformism and advocated for an “All Okinawa” movement. He was troublesome for the Abe administration.

The gubernatorial election triggered by Onaga’s passing was scheduled for September. It became a showdown between former House of Representatives member Denny Tamaki, backed by the “All Okinawa” movement, and the former mayor of Ginowan, Atusushi Sakima, who was fully supported by the Abe administration.

Following the Nago mayoral election, the Unification Church decided to step in to assist the LDP in the gubernatorial race as well.

The following is from a TM report by Eiji Tokuno dated September 4, 2018. It starts by analysing the situation following Onaga’s death.

The previous governor of Okinawa, Onaga was said to be completely aligned with the Japanese Communist Party and very close to China, so much so that he was labeled as a puppet of China. The incumbent, communist-aligned governor, died suddenly of cancer in August.

 

Therefore, I believe and hope that Okinawa will now have a governor who is aligned with heaven, and that as Japan, America, and Korea come together as one, Okinawa will correct its course and move toward the path it is meant to follow.

 

However, a left-wing member of parliament, regarded as the successor to the deceased governor, has entered the race. Okinawa as a whole is mourning the late Governor Onaga, and the candidate we, the LDP and Komeito (Soka Gakkai) support, aligned with Heaven’s will, is struggling. Currently, the left-wing candidate has about twice the support as our candidate.

Tokuno went on to say that in order to overturn the disadvantage, the Unification Church branches in Tokyo and Okinawa will unite to provide support within the election. “Kajikuri” as appears in the next quotation, refers to Masayosi Kajikuri, the chairman of the International Federation for Victory over Communism, the organisation which manages the political operation of the Unification Church.

Because we urgently needed to recover from that situation, I headed straight to Okinawa as soon as my engagements in Korea were over. Later, Chairman Kajikuri also rushed in from Tokyo, and together in Okinawa we held strategy meetings with the local district leaders, parish priests, and on-site negotiators.

 

We have also deployed a youth activity unit of about 50 members from mainland Japan, and through intensive phone-banking efforts by Okinawan followers and women living in Okinawa, we will fight to turn the tide in this election and ensure that the candidate that we, the LDP and the Komeito (Soka Gakkai) support is elected on voting day in the Okinawa gubernatorial election on September 30.

Tokuno also analyzed the Soka Gakkai votes in Okinawa.

The Komeito, formed by Soka Gakkai members, appears to hold about 50,000 votes in Okinawa. Komeito is also planning to deploy a 6,000 members unit from across Japan to Okinawa, entering this election with a committed effort to win.

 

Therefore, we on the side of heaven will fully support Sakima, the gubernatorial candidate, with the backing of the LDP, Komeito (Soka Gakkai), and the Family Federation [the Unification Church] as he faces off against left-wing forces, including the Japanese Communist Party, who are completely united in supporting left-wing members of the National Diet.

 

I will be travelling to Okinawa to deliver the main speech at a family lecture event focused on new guests, in conjunction with the election strategy meeting. I will also conduct the September departure ceremony for internal members and participate in the celebration for second-generation and young members receiving the blessing. Through these activities, I will pour love, heart and the word of god into the believers in Okinawa as a representative of the True Parents.

 

I will keep you updated on the results of our efforts in Okinawa. I have also attached some photos from my visit to Okinawa. I hope you will take a look.

On the morning following the Nago mayoral election, Abe addressed reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office.

“I thought it would  be difficult to defeat the incumbent mayor since he was considered to be a strong opponent, but I’m really glad we did.”

Anticipating a Long-Term Administration

The Okinawa gubernatorial election was announced on September 13, 2018.

Within the TM Report entry by Eiji Tokuno on September 7, ahead of the official election campaign. In that same month, he anticipated Abe’s victory over Shigeru Ishiba in the LDP leadership election, expecting that the Abe administration would mark the beginning of a long-term administration.

As I reported previously, an intense election campaign is now underway in Okinawa. According Chairman Kajikuri’s report indicates that the LDP headquarters is currently concentrating solely on the LDP leadership election on September 20 and the Okinawa gubernatorial election on September 30.

 

Prime Minister Abe is currently running for a third term as president of the LDP in a one-on-one race against Ishiba, a prominent senior party member. Currently, Abe is widely expected to secure a third term as  LDP leader.

 

As a result, Prime Minister Abe is set to serve as Japan’s Prime Minister until 2021. This would make him the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history, surpassing former leaders Nakasone and Koizumi and establishing a new record.

In the Okinawa gubernatorial election, Sakima, the candidate supported by the LDP, has been described as an “Abel-like figure,” reportedly having attended lectures by the Unification Church on multiple occasions.

The Okinawa gubernatorial election is a struggle between forces of good and evil. Denny Tamaki, the progressive candidate and successor to the late Governor Onaga, who had fully aligned with the Japanese Communist Party, is of mixed heritage, born to a U.S. serviceman and an Okinawan mother.

 

The other candidate is Sakima, former mayor of Ginowan City in Okinawa, supported by the LDP as well as our church. He has attended our church lectures on multiple occasions and listened closely to our presentations, earning a reputation as an Abel-like figure. The election has turned into a head-to-head contest between these two candidates.

“An Official Request from the LDP”

However, contrary to the wishes of the Unification Church, Denny Tamaki won the election, receiving a total of  396,632 votes to Atsushi Sakima’s 316,458 votes.

On October 2nd, two days after the election, Eiji Tokuno expressed words of remorse in the TM Report.

In the Okinawa gubernatorial election held on September 30, Atsushi Sakima, the candidate from our “Abel” camp supported by the side of heaven, received 316,458 votes, while Denny Tamaki, backed by the Communist Party, garnered 396,632 votes, losing by a margin of 80,000 votes.

 

The realistic explanation for the poor voter turnout was the impact of a major typhoon, but I regret making such a basic analysis, as I had projected that the race would be tight with a small margin.

On the other hand, Tokuno claimed that he was formally requested by the LDP headquarters to conduct an analysis of the election results, highlighting the Unification Church’s influence.

The LDP headquarters intends to reflect on and analyze its defeat in the Okinawa gubernatorial election. We have also been requested to examine the election results and report our analysis to the LDP headquarters.

 

This is the first time we have been formally  asked by the LDP headquarters to analyze election results like this. I believe this is proof that they believe our organization’s support has a great influence.

(Korean–Japanese translation: Minju Kang)

Key Reference 

“The Unification Church No One Wrote About” by Yoshifu Arita, Shueisha Shinsho. (Published in Japanese)

Reporting on the “TM Report”

Regarding the TM Report, the Unification Church has refuted it, while the LDP has turned a blind eye.

On January 16, 2026, the Unification Church’s Public Relations Department of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification published “Our Organization’s View on the ‘TM Special Report’.”

Within their announcement, there is a report by a staff member who is said to have worked under Yun Young-ho, a former World Headquarters director who compiled the TM Report. It points out that the report is highly likely to contain deliberate omissions, alterations, and additions, concluding that it is “extremely lacking in credibility.” The report’s author remains anonymous, and no details regarding their position or role are disclosed.

It also states that, regarding the relationships with Japanese politicians described in the TM Report, “it cannot be ruled out that the expressions within the report go beyond the established facts, that the context has been embellished, or that the report includes content that cannot be verified as factual.”

From the Unification Church side, on January 8, 2026, former Chairman Eiji Tokuno also posted a statement on X. He acknowledged that “it is true that it includes a report I sent to the former World Headquarters Director to report to leader Han” while adding that “it also contains many personal opinions and wishful predictions.”

In September 2022, two months after the assassination of former LDP President Shinzo Abe, the LDP conducted an investigation into its ties with the Unification Church and concluded that “the party has no organisational relationship with the Church.” The investigation was severely inadequate, relying solely on self-reporting by lawmakers. Despite this, current party president Sanae Takaichi has shown absolutely no intention of evaluating the TM Report. On January 26, 2026, she appeared on TBS’s news23. When Akiko Oishi, co-chair of the Reiwa Shinsengumi, pointed out that Takaichi’s name appears in the TM Report, Takaichi called it a “document of unknown origin” and went so far as to say “that would amount to defamation”.

Tansa reviewed the entire 3,212-page Korean version of the TM Report.Making use of AI-based analysis, examining the document together with translators and our reporting partner,  the Korean investigative journalism organization Newstapa.

Extensive research has been conducted on the Unification Church and a vast body of investigative findings has been accumulated by journalists and researchers, as well as by lawyers and religious scholars who have worked on victim support and countermeasures. Tansa respects the work of its predecessors and has utilised their findings to examine the TM Report.

As a result, we have determined that the TM Report is a crucial document in unraveling the longstanding codependency between the Unification Church and the LDP.

While continuing to report on the TM Report, we will pursue further investigation. If you have internal information regarding undisclosed ties between the Unification Church and the Liberal Democratic Party, we encourage you to contact Tansa. We will responsibly protect and keep confidential the identity of our sources.

For those wishing to provide information, please refer to the page below. It contains details on contact methods, points to note, and key aspects of the Whistleblower Protection Act.

https://tansajp.org/whistleblower/

The Unification Church changed its name to the “Family Federation for World Peace and Unification” in 2015, and the media refers to it as the “Former Unification Church.” However, because there is continuity in the fundamental problems inherent to the Church, Tansa will refer to it as the “Unification Church.”

 

January 27, 2026

Tokyo Investigative Newsroom Tansa

 

(Originally published in Japanese on January 28, 2026. Translation by Mana Shibata and Jabreel Williams)

The True Mother Files: How a Cult Religion Infiltrated Japan's Ruling Party: All articles