The Unification Church aimed for its “True Parents” to control the world, with leadership in Japan stating that a believer must become the country’s prime minister.

Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President and current Prime Minister of Japan Sanae Takaichi has long supported the male-line succession of the Japanese imperial throne.

“The history of male-line succession up to the 126th emperor, the current emperor, is a precious treasure unique to Japan, rare in the world,” she has stated.

However, the Unification Church has the exact opposite view.

In a TM Report, Unification Church President Eiji Tokuno stated his opinion that “the imperial system should, of course, be abolished.” Is abolition is a necessary precondition for the Japanese people to accept the “Truth Mother,” Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja, he wrote in the report.

Tokuno also stated in a report that “Ultimately, a Unification Church believer must become prime minister of Japan.”

In other words, the LDP, while currying the church’s support in elections, has willingly become entangled with a religious group attempting to take control of Japan.

Believers pretended to be emperor, presidents bow to Church leader in ceremony

For over 40 years, it has been no secret that Unification Church founder Moon Sun-myung sought to bring world leaders under his control.

In July 1984, Japanese monthly magazine Bungeishunju published an exposé titled “The Hidden Side of the Unification Church,” written by Yoshikazu Soejima, former editor-in-chief of Sekai Nippo, a Unification Church newspaper, and Hiroaki Inoue, former head of sales for the same paper.

The previous year, members of Sekai Nippo had been physically attacked by Genjiro Kajikuri, chairman of the International Federation for Victory over Communism (IFVC), and others, leaving about 10 employees injured. Soejima and colleagues had announced a policy to transition Sekai Nippo away from being merely a newspaper used for the Unification Church’s propaganda and proselytizing. In vivid detail, their exposé revealed the church’s internal workings as well as the particulars of the attack. Soejima had been one of 12 executive members who determined Unification Church policies.

The exposé also mentioned a ritual, known within the church as the “Salute Ceremony,” that suggested Moon was aiming to become the ruler of the world.

“I should also mention that the Unification Church holds a symbolic and distasteful ceremony in which Moon Sun-myung is regarded as the ‘Messiah’ and ‘King of Kings.’ On the commemorative days known as the ‘Four Holy Days,’ there is a ritual called the ‘Salute Ceremony’ that begins at 5 a.m., during which senior Unification Church officials perform three bows of reverence toward Moon and his family, who are seated at the altar. This usually takes place at East Garden in New York State, US, Moon’s private residence. During the ceremony, church leaders from each country act as stand-ins for their respective heads of state — including the Emperor of Japan, President Reagan, President Chun Doo-hwan, and others — and kneel before the Moon family, thereby performing a ritual in which the world’s sovereigns are symbolically paying homage to Reverend Moon.”

“Unification Church Japan President Kuboki acts as a stand-in for the Emperor. This is truly disturbing — as Japanese citizens who revere the Emperor as the symbol of the nation, is this not something we simply cannot overlook?”

The exposé was published on June 10, 1984.

Eight nights earlier, Soejima was assaulted outside the entrance to his apartment building in Setagaya, Tokyo. A man with a shaven head and white pants shouted, “You bastard!” and stabbed Soejima repeatedly in the head, arms, and back with a knife. Blood gushed from his temple like water from a hose. The wounds on his back and arms were deep enough to stick a finger into, but he managed to survive.

The perpetrator was never identified.

In a 2020 report from the Central Asia bureau director too

Moon Sun-myung passed away in 2012 at the age of 92.

His wife, Han Hak-ja, took over as leader of the Unification Church. And the belief that the head of the church should rule the world remained unchanged.

In a TM Report dated November 26, 2020, Central Asia bureau director Lee Chung-woo shared his impression of a Unification Church event and stated, “We will make it so government officials bow before the True Parents.” In the following, “True Mother” refers to Han, and “World Headquarters head” refers to Yun Young-ho, the church’s second-in-command, who relayed reports from around the world to Han.

Through this event, I sense that our movement has moved beyond abstract ideological concepts to a solid and expanding stage of concrete, practical nation-building. I believe that during today’s event — which was organized by the World Headquarters head to welcome True Mother — people saw and felt that we must make it so that welcoming the True Parents becomes “something that was always meant to be, something natural,” and where it becomes both legitimate and natural for government leaders to bow before the True Parents.

 

I see how the World Headquarters head is constantly grappling with the question of how we can fulfill our responsibility to welcome and honor the True Parents on behalf of all humanity in the future, and so I will strive to gain insight and learn from him.

Emperor’s duties and budget reported in detail

In a TM Report dated October 6, 2021, Tokuno provided a detailed analysis of the Emperor’s official duties as well as the Imperial Household budget.

This is a brief report on the nature and number of official duties performed by the Imperial Household and the Imperial Family, as well as their budget.

 

First, regarding the number of official duties performed by the Emperor, there were as many as 710 per year. To briefly summarize the details, 101 of these involved the Emperor personally reviewing and approving documents related to state affairs (Cabinet matters), etc.

Second, there were 94 audiences with prominent domestic figures and distinguished individuals.

 

Third, there were 66 instances of meeting with and expressing appreciation to members of the Imperial Palace Volunteer Cleaning Group, who clean the palace grounds and perform other volunteer work.

 

Fourth, there were 49 meetings with foreign heads of state, such as presidents, and members of royal families.

 

Fifth, there were 42 receptions and hospitality events, such as tea parties where domestic and international guests were invited to the Imperial Palace or the Imperial Residence to enjoy drinks and light refreshment while conversing.

 

Sixth, there were 36 ceremonies for the presentation of credentials to foreign ambassadors and ministers, held as part of state functions.

 

Seventh, there were 35 luncheons and dinners held to entertain guests from both inside and outside the Imperial Household.

 

Eighth, there were 32 imperial rituals (court rituals) held within the Imperial Palace by the Imperial Family to pray for the prosperity of the nation and the Imperial Family, etc.

 

In addition, there were 26 appearances at commemorative ceremonies and award presentations, bringing the total to 710 events. If there is a scheduling conflict or the Emperor’s health is poor, Crown Prince Akishino or other adult members of the Imperial Family are designated to perform official duties on his behalf.

 

Next, regarding the Imperial Household budget, all day-to-day expenses and those related to official activities of the Imperial Family are funded by taxes paid by the public to the government. This budget is broadly divided under the Imperial Household Agency’s budget into the Imperial Household expenses budget and the Imperial Household Agency expenses budget.

 

The Imperial Household budget covers expenses directly related to the Imperial Family and the Imperial Household. For fiscal year 2021, this budget amounted to approximately 12.4 billion yen, or 124 billion South Korean won. The budget for the Imperial Household Agency was approximately 12.6 billion yen, or 126 billion South Korean won. The Imperial Household Agency has a staff of 1,073.

“So that the Japanese people can become capable of welcoming the True Parents”

In his report, Tokuno said Japan’s imperial system “naturally must be abolished in the future.”

Finally, as my fifth point, I would like to share my personal views on the relationship between the issues related to Princess Mako’s marriage and the imperial system.

 

True Mother recently spoke about how, as a providential phenomenon aimed at transforming Korea into a nation capable of accepting and welcoming the True Parents as part of Korea’s 5,000-year history, Korea’s dynastic history has come to an end and a democratic system of government has been established.

 

In line with that sentiment, from a long-term perspective, Japan’s imperial system naturally must be abolished in the future so that the Japanese people can become capable of welcoming the True Parents. Therefore, observing the recent controversy surrounding the princess’s marriage, I got the impression that the gradual erosion of that tradition, much like what happened with the British royal family, might be a providential phenomenon.

Tokuno also expressed his earnest hope that a member of the Unification Church will eventually become Japan’s prime minister.

In any case, even though the Emperor does not hold actual power, it is a fact that he exists as a symbol of the nation and exerts a spiritual influence on the hearts of the Japanese people through the very presence of the imperial institution.

 

I earnestly believe that we are moving toward the abolition of the imperial system in a more natural way, and that eventually many members of the Diet will emerge who are worthy of serving as providential figures capable of connecting the Japanese people to the True Parents through a national system that allows the Japanese people to serve the True Parents faithfully. I also feel that believers, including those whose parents were also believers, must become members of the Diet, and that ultimately one must become Prime Minister of Japan.

On January 16, 2026, Tokuno posted the following to his X account regarding his statements in the TM Report.

Currently, some media outlets are reporting that my reports for the “TM Report” contained disrespectful remarks regarding the imperial system.

 

Personally, I have the deepest respect for the Emperor and the Imperial Family. I certainly do not wish for the imperial system to be abolished, nor do I recall ever using such language. If the word “abolish” appears in the text, I can only assume that it was either a mistranslation or an alteration with some ulterior motive as the “TM Report” was put together.

 

I would like to state here that [what is written in the TM Report] is by no means my true belief.

 

I sincerely apologize to all those affected by these news reports for any anxiety or inconvenience they may have caused.

(Korean–Japanese translation: Kang Min-ju)

Main source materials
・Yoshikazu Soejima and Hiroaki Inoue, Bungeishunju, July 1984 issue
・Yoshifu Arita, “The Things No One Has Written About the Unification Church (Dare mo kakanakatta Toitsu Kyokai)” (Shueisha Shinsho)
・Yoshihide Sakurai, “The Unification Church: Uncovering the Truth Through Sex, Money, and Han (Toitsu Kyokai sei kane Han kara jitsuzo ni semaru)” (Chuko Shinsho)

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. It contains details on contact methods, points to note, and key aspects of the Whistleblower Protection Act.

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 February 5, 2026. )

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