## Fumio Kishida's Meeting with Newt Gingrich and Unification Church Representatives
In 2019, then-policy chief of the Liberal Democratic Party, Fumio Kishida, met with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo. While Kishida has maintained that the meeting was intended as a courtesy call and that he was unaware of the presence of other individuals, an investigation by The Asahi Shimbun revealed that a majority of the attendees had ties to the Unification Church.
The investigation focused on photographs of the meeting provided by Gingrich. By enhancing the resolution of the images, The Asahi Shimbun discovered a piece of paper on Kishida's desk labeled "List." This list, according to Gingrich, contained the names of all meeting participants.
Upon examining the list, it became clear that seven out of the eight individuals present, excluding Gingrich and his associate, belonged to organizations affiliated with the Unification Church, now formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. These individuals included senior members of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) and the Federation for World Peace.
When questioned about the list, Kishida's private office stated that the Prime Minister understood the meeting to be solely with Gingrich and that his previous explanation regarding the meeting remained accurate. Kishida has consistently maintained that he was unaware of the identities of the individuals accompanying Gingrich and that there are no records or documents related to the meeting.
The meeting was arranged by UPF Japan and took place on October 4, 2019. Among the attendees were Michael Jenkins, current president of UPF International and former president of the Unification Church's U.S. branch, and Masayoshi Kajikuri, chairman of UPF Japan.
Gingrich, known for his close ties to the UPF, has spoken at several of the organization's large-scale gatherings. The UPF was founded by Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, and his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon, the current leader of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. The church has faced accusations of financial exploitation through excessive donations and other means.
The revelation of Kishida's meeting with individuals connected to the Unification Church has raised concerns about potential ties between the LDP and the controversial religious group, particularly in light of the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022. The accused gunman held a grudge against the Unification Church, with which Abe had political connections.