Japanese Victims Association against Religious Kidnapping and Forced Conversion

'Weekly Jitsuwa (True Story)' published an article concerning a case in violation of the Anti-Stalking Act by a Unification Church member in the backdrop of the kidnapping, confinement and forced deconversion.

The article was entitled 'A monologue by a man who was arrested last year on charges of violating the Anti-Stalking Act upon his fiancee-to-be in the Unification Church Mass Wedding - Everyone gets unhappy, after all'. It was written following a direct interview with the very person, Mr. Takashi USAMI, 43 years old, who was convicted with three-month imprisonment with four-year probation by the Tokyo District Court on December 27th last year. The article exposes the true pictures of the case.

The article begins with a prologue: "I visited Mr. Usami's house in Saitama Prefecture in order to hear his mind after his unexpected conviction in the appeal he raised against his earlier verdict. The Q&A follows, with his name and facial photo printed with his permission." It quotes many of his own words, revealing the hidden pictures.

The article refers to the abnormality involving Mr. Usami's arrest. "In this case, for example, there was no evidence of any earlier warnings issued by the police. He was reportedly arrested out of the blue and his real name and facial photo were made available to the media. Moreover, the fact that the case was handled not by the Criminal Department but by the Public Safety Department within the Metropolitan Police Agency hints that the police' objective was the Unification Church itself, rather than a mere stalker incident.

Towards the end of the administrative notes regarding the application of the Anti-Stalking Act, a note of caution is mentioned to the effect that people's rights be not abused unfairly. It also dictates not to abuse the law for ulterior aims in breach of its original objectives. The article thus suggested a possiblity that Mr. Usami was intentionally made a stalker as the police authorities had targeted the Unification Church.

 
The article also quoted Mr. Usami about circumstances in which his former fiancee went missing, as described in the following extract:

- How did Miss A's parents see the situation?

"She was a devoted member, living in a church facility and taking care of people with feeble faith. Her parents were opposed to either her faith or to the Blessing. I heard that they had once sounded out a possibility of kidnapping and confinement (Anti-UC people call them as 'custody' and 'persuation').

Even if she was cautious of her parents, we were to report about our marriage to them on the New Year days in 2008. At their house, I was refused entry and she alone entered into the house. Five minutes later she came out, saying there was no problem, as I cautioned about their trap.

Shortly, however, she returned to their house and never responded to my emails ever since. My phones to her parents' house were not answered. I visited their house and found nobody around. She must be confined, I thought."

- You mean you did not act as a stalker because you did not accept her rejection?

"As a matter of fact, I encountered the similar case after I took part in the Mass Wedding in 1999. At that time the fiancee-to-be (another woman) then spoke directly: "I quit the church and shall cancel the engagement. I don't like you!" I could give her up. If Miss A would tell me the same way, I shall never run after her."

- You attached a GPS device on a vehicle belonging to Miss A's father, didn't you? (Media report said of Miss A's car.) As the court judged it, don't you think it was too much to do so?

"Around the autumn of 2009, I could find out that the apartment where her father used to visit was none other than the one an anti-UC group used to confine Mr. Toru GOTO for de-conversion for 12 years. Naturally, I was worried that she would undergo the similar plight after her abduction by the people who used to be involved in Goto's case. I placed the GPS device simply because I wanted to meet her and clarify her true mind whether she was hoping for a chance of escape or she was quitting the church out of her own volition. As I realized her true mind of leaving the church, I gave her up. But the court was preoccupied with a stalker charge and never considered my real motivation. (end of extract)

Based on his testimonies, the article questioned about Mr. Usami's arrest and the court proceedings by pointing out the following: "Usami's testimony that he tried to locate her whereabout in order to clarify her will sounds consistent. Besides, Mr. Usami who worked his business online was at least temporarily deprived of his living rights when his personal computers were confiscated with contact information to his clients lost."

The article quotes an answer from the Unification Church as follows: "Mr. Usami naturally had an intention to expose the deprogrammers, because his case could not be understood correctly without digging into that background. It was true that he loved Miss A, as evidenced by statements submitted by both sides.

The kidnapping cases have decreased steadily from one case per day before, down to about 10 cases annually in recent years, and 5 cases lst year."

The 3-page article concluded: "Mr. Usami's monologue suggested a clear difference from normal stalker cases. His arrest must have caused tremendous losses to everyone involved."