Before the parliamentary deliberations on a bill aimed at relieving the victims of the former Unification Church began on the 6th, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan paid about 25 million yen to the church for donations and purchases of goods, and said, "We will not request a refund." We interviewed a former believer who signed a letter of intent to do so.
The woman said, "I decided to leave the church and sent a letter to the head of the local church asking for the letter to be withdrawn. Afterwards, the letter was returned by mail with a postmark on the 30th of last month. Currently, the full amount of the donation has been made through a lawyer. I am preparing to request a refund."
Regarding this, Ryo Nakagawa, a lawyer of the "National Association of Lawyers Against Spiritual Marketing Law," said that if Prime Minister Kishida was forced to sign a letter of intent that he "voluntarily donated" on the 29th of last month, it would be an element of illegality. , He expressed the view that his answer in the Diet may have had an impact.
After that, he said, "Based on this example, I really hope that the victims will request withdrawal of the memorandum, and that a framework will be established where many people can be relieved."