FAQ

"People who have opposed the Unification Church (UC)"
Why has the abduction and confinement of over 4300 people occurred?

Introduction

Abduction and confinement incidents for the purpose of deprogramming UC believers have occurred frequently in Japan. It was in 1966 that the first confinement incident took place. Since then, more than 4,300 UC believers over 43 years until present have suffered involuntary deprogramming attempts.

What makes abduction and confinement vicious is that these kidnapped victims aren't freed from confinement until a believer renounces his faith. These abductions and confinements are often repeated 2 or 3 times, until a believer renounces his beliefs even after escaping. UC believers worry that relatives who conspire with anti-UC ministers, will attack again, when and where an abduction may take place again, "If I'm locked up again, I may never be freed", so UC believers live under constant mental anxiety, living a fugitive-like life, making it very difficult to conduct daily life.

The system of continued confinement until renouncing one's faith was used in Japanese Christian persecution. An accomplished Christian who becomes a martyr would be revered as "a model of a believer". But Japanese rulers didn't allow Christians to choose the "martyr's way" of glory.

"It would be easy to kill off Christians, but persecutors chose the way for Christians to give up their faith (They made them apostatize.). The reason was that even if they exterminated Christians, they would be an insult because they couldn't make the believers obey them, the rulers, which would mean the leaders lost (face). Persecutors wished for Christians to obey their orders" (Report of missionary Orfanel, March 28th in 1612).

To succeed in attaining apostasy, persecutors take every possible way. As a psychological strategy, they deeply shock the child's affections toward the parents, and the affection of the victims' teachers towards the former student; polarizing parents and children; bringing and confronting former missionaries and believers together and forcing the latter to give up their faith.

Forcing apostasy incidents using relatives against UC believers have long history in Christian persecution. Consequently, there are many members still suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) after suffering confinement.

I wish this book to be the beginning of understanding about the truth of UC member deprogramming history. I also wish that the abduction and confinement for deprogramming purposes end as soon as possible.

July 1st in 2009

1. Adding insult to injury, what is the reason for all these long toiled years of consistent violent affront afflicted on the UC members by Christian ministers in Japan?

2. What is the reason behind the alliance created by those left-wing journalists and lawyers and the opposing Christian priests in these anti-UC activities?

3. Why have those anti-UC groups been deliberately ignoring such serious "violations of human rights" in abductions, confinement and the forceful coercions for withdrawal from membership which have been afflicting members of the UC all these years ?

4. JCP has shown their hostility openly towards the UC and IFVOC. But until reaching this point of hostility what kind of history was there behind this war?

5. The National Network of Lawyer against the Spiritual Sales (NNL) has taken up the "Spiritual Sales" issue which began in 1987 and aggressively expanded the criticism of the UC. The mass media has covered these contents vigorously and the issue was further exploited afterwards by NNL. Can you explain please about the background of the establishment of this group?

6. It is said that in the background of the "Spiritual Sales" campaign, there were prearranged maneuverings worked out by the former UC members. Could you explain this?

7. We heard that these violent affronts of abductions and confinements of the UC members are purely sheer "family affairs", and that so-called "enforced religious conversion groups" do not actually exist. Can you disclose the truth behind that?

8. What the UC calls "abduction and confinement" are, according to the opposing group, "protection and rescue" and merely a "discussion" among relatives. Which is true?

9. It is reported that there are some members who suffer with PTSD after their abduction and confinement. Among those who were confined, what is the ratio of ones suffering with PTSD?

10. It is said that in the history of Christianity, persecution in Japan was the severest. Persecution under the Roman Empire is well-known. What are the reasons for saying Christian persecution in Japan was the hardest?

11. How did the end of the long and cruel Christian persecution come about?

12. I heard that the information spread by the Anti-UC Parents Association was taken up at a Diet Inquiry and caused a problem. I also heard that Mr. Yoshifu Arita kept spreading many kinds of groundless information. What kind of misinformation is this?

13. Sometimes former members claim that they were deceived by the UC. Why do they say this? Does UC really deceive people?

14. For many years, anti-UC groups have criticized UC for performing "blood sharing rituals". How true is this?

15. We heard the criticism, saying, "Even though UC denies a "blood sharing rituals", as stated in Chapter 2 in Divine Principle, the entire course of the fall occurred with a sexual relationship and therefore, in order restore that, the reversed course of a sexual relationship is necessary. That is why for sure they are doing this "blood sharing rituals". How should we take it?

16. What was the truth about Rev. Moon's story when he received a revelation from Jesus on April 17, 1935? An opposition faction mentioned that this was a made-up story and that there were discrepancies even in the publications of the UC and it was irresponsible.

17. I heard the criticism by the opposition factions that "There is the photo in which Rev. Sun Myung Moon is crossing the sea carrying Mr. Jeong Hwa Pak on his back. But the person who is carrying him is not Rev. Moon. That person is a different person. You are mistaking that person in the photo for Rev. Moon. The person who deceives people by making a moving story must not be the Lord of the Second Advent." What is the real fact of the case?

18. I heard the criticism of the opposition factions that "The quotation of Bible verses in Divine Principle is inaccurate. It cannot be truth." How shall we take it?

19. I heard from the opposition factions that "Truth is unchanging. But 'Divine Principle' is changing by deletion, addition and correction. This kind of theory must not be truth." How shall we take this?

20. It can be said that Japan, which still now does not intend to enforce the incidents of abductions and confinement committed by UC members' relatives with apostasy purpose, is a nation where the freedom of religion is not established. Please tell me the historical background of how the freedom of religion has been established in European countries and in the United States.