A group of lawmakers from the ruling parties has submitted a set of proposals to amend existing laws governing religious organizations, aiming to prevent the outflow of Unification Church funds.
The committee, consisting of members from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, is focusing on measures to assist church victims and has recommended legal revisions instead of introducing new laws regarding asset protection.
The proposal says that a religious corporation, when facing a court order to revoke its special status and when a large number of claims against the group is expected, must notify the relevant government authorities before disposing of its assets, including real estate. This aims to amend the Religious Corporations Act to prevent an organization＊s assets from being transferred overseas and aims to enable the government to monitor property transfers.
On Wednesday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said he intends to keep a close eye on discussions surrounding the proposal.
※We will use all existing legal systems and make every effort to promptly work toward victim relief,§ he said.
The ruling parties are aiming to submit legal revisions in the current session of parliament. Although the proposal did not incorporate the opposition＊s argument for a uniform approach to property preservation, the ruling coalition is expected to kick-start discussions with the opposition as early as next week.
If there is a risk of property outflow, the proposal suggests submitting a property inventory to the relevant government authority every three months and, if necessary, to consider amendments to the law that enables the proper development of foreign transactions.
The introduction of a new law that would uniformly safeguard the assets of the Unification Church has been deferred, citing concerns about potential constitutional conflicts.
Regarding separate legislation already submitted to the parliament over the asset preservation sought by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Nippon Ishin no Kai, the ruling parties emphasized the need for careful consideration in order to ensure ample respect for freedom of religion.
Both opposition parties have submitted their own proposals to the current session of parliament, which would prevent the church＊s assets from being transferred overseas.
The ruling coalition also emphasized the need to alleviate the heavy burden of litigation costs as factors.
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