## 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 identities of many accompanying Gingrich, an investigation by The Asahi Shimbun revealed that a majority of the attendees had ties to the Unification Church.
The investigation, which involved enhancing the resolution of photos provided by Gingrich, uncovered a list on Kishida's desk labeled "List." This list, according to Gingrich, contained the names of all meeting participants. Notably, all eight individuals listed, 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.
Among the attendees were senior members of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) and the Federation for World Peace. The meeting was reportedly arranged by UPF Japan, an organization with close ties to Gingrich, who has spoken at several of their large-scale gatherings.
Kishida's office has maintained that the Prime Minister understood the meeting to be solely with Gingrich and that there is no discrepancy with his previous explanation. However, the presence of numerous Unification Church representatives raises questions about the nature of the meeting and Kishida's potential awareness of their affiliation.
The Unification Church has faced accusations of financial exploitation for decades, demanding excessive donations from its followers. The church's controversial practices and political ties have come under increased scrutiny following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022. The accused gunman held a grudge against the church, which Abe had political connections with.
Kishida's meeting with Gingrich and the Unification Church representatives adds another layer to the complex relationship between Japanese politicians and the controversial religious group. Further investigation is needed to determine the full extent of Kishida's knowledge about the attendees and the purpose of the meeting.