Japanese opposition leader peppered with questions about ties to Unification Church

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Japanese opposition leader peppered with questions about ties to Unification Church

Kenta Izumi, left, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, directs a question on October 5 to Lower House Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda, right. Koichi Ueda A ruckus erupted in the Diet on October 5 when the leader of the main opposition party ignored protocol and peppered the speaker of the Lower House chamber with questions about his ties to the Unification Church instead of addressing the assembled lawmakers directly.

Kenta Izumi, who heads the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, took the unusual step of turning around the podium to address Hiroyuki Hosoda, the speaker who until Sept. 29 had studiously avoided commenting on the raft of reports about his links with the Unification Church that emerged after the July 8 slaying of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Hosoda ignored the questions from Izumi, leading to shouts from the chamber urging him to respond. Hosoda said nothing, making it difficult to hear what the next speaker is asking when the speaker normally asks for quiet when shouting drowns out what is being said.

After the session, reporters pressed Hosoda about his ties. Although he had long been linked to the Unification Church, now known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, he only issued a short written response on September 29.

He told reporters he would issue another statement this week, but he ignored questions about holding a news conference to clarify matters.

Izumi also targeted Daishiro Yamagiwa, the state minister in charge of economic revitalization who was forthright about meeting with church officials only after he was outed by the media.

Two days earlier, Yamagiwa told reporters he had met with Hak Ja Han, the widow of Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon and now head of the church. He had previously admitted to attending an event in 2018 where she was present, but he didn't mention that he met her on that occasion.

When I saw the photo pointed out to me by media representatives, it matched my recollection of having met her in the past, he said.

Yamagiwa said he was not certain of the exact date, because no records of the meeting remained at his office.

Izumi said Yamagiwa's admissions were clearly intended to muddy the waters and pressed Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to fire him.

Kishida offered the following awkward response: If understanding has not been achieved, there will be the need for the individual to present a thorough explanation under his own responsibility. Izumi criticized the way the ruling Liberal Democratic Party went about gathering information about ties between its lawmakers and the Unification Church, calling it insufficient.

Kishida pledged to widen the scope of his edict for members to sever their ties with the religious group to make sure that local assembly members are included.

On October 5th, Yamagiwa was asked whether he realized that the Unification Church was an anti-social element and why he continued to attend various events organized by the church.

Yamagiwa responded sincerely: I apologize if you attended an event that provided a positive endorsement of the organization. I will be careful about my future activities so I have no ties with the group. The only thing that was agreed to be passed in the Lower House on October 5 was to unanimously pass a declaration criticizing North Korea for launching a ballistic missile over Japan on October 4.