A religious group, a defense team that supports second generations whose parents are followers of "Jehovah's Witnesses," held a press conference and conducted a detailed investigation of multiple testimonies saying, "I was whipped by my parents." He also expressed his intention to convey information to the government and others.
A defense team of lawyers and doctors who support former believers of "Jehovah's Witnesses" held a press conference in Tokyo on the 28th.
Since last year, the defense team has been interviewing former believers and second-generation members, and more than 70 of them have said that they were beaten with a whip by their parents as a child. about it.
In addition, there were multiple comments such as, "I was forced to recruit, and my school activities, further education, and employment were restricted." It means that
For this reason, the defense team will conduct a detailed investigation to see if the teachings of the cult lead to child abuse, etc., and will provide information to the government etc. depending on the situation.
In addition, the defense team provided information to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on the 27th, saying, ``There is testimony that children are instructed to refuse blood transfusions.''
Attorney Kotaro Tanaka of the "Jehovah's Witnesses Problem Support Lawyers" said, "The problems are wide-ranging and each of them is serious, so at the moment we want to collect a lot of information, first of all, we will do our best to clarify the actual situation and make it public." was talking
Jehovah's Witnesses say, "Jehovah's Witness parents want the best for their children. Jehovah's Witness publications have consistently encouraged parents to lovingly teach and guide their children." Discipline includes correcting a child's behavior, but it must be done in a way that the child feels the love of the parent and is accepted by the child."
Regarding the refusal of blood transfusions, he said, ``The choice of medical care is a personal and family decision, and should be decided based on sufficient discussion.''
A man whose parents are believers opens up about his experiences for the first time
A man whose parents are followers of 'Jehovah's Witnesses' responded to the interview and confessed his experiences such as whiplash for the first time.
Takeshi Komatsu, 40, who has been recruiting with his mother since he was a child, said, "I want people to know that there are people who have been deprived of choices in life due to religious arrangements." I answered the interview using my real name.
From an early age, Komatsu was taught to accompany his mother on his recruiting activities, and always attended meetings on Saturdays and Sundays.
If he was restless at a rally or couldn't do a recruiting job with a smile, he would hit his buttocks with a homemade whip that doubled and triple-folded his belt and wrapped it in tape as "loving chastisement." It is said that he was
He hardly had time to hang out with his friends, and when he became a junior high school student, he appealed to his mother that he wanted to participate in extracurricular activities, but he was told that his priority was to study the Bible and was not accepted.
Komatsu said, "Ever since I can remember, I've had the experience of being corrected for behavior that didn't fit the cult's beliefs. I came to think that ``I have no choice but to live with this,'''' he said.
When he was 20, he left the Jehovah's Witnesses after dating a colleague who was not a believer at his part-time job.
Since then, it is said that the parent-child relationship has been broken for about 20 years.
Komatsu said, "I once said to my mother, 'I want to restore the parent-child relationship.' I can't even show my face," he said.
On top of that, he said, ``I don't want mothers to give up their faith because there is freedom of religion, but it's strange that the parent-child relationship will be destroyed by leaving the church. I want children to stop forcing their parents to believe in their faith.I want children to be able to decide whether or not to believe in the religion of their parents after showing them various worlds."
Ritsumin meeting `` should be investigated as soon as possible ''
The Constitutional Democratic Party held a meeting on the 28th over "Jehovah's Witnesses".
The lawmakers who attended pointed out that there should be an urgent investigation to see if there are any cases of child abuse in the teachings of the cult.
An official of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said, "We would like to consider how to respond, including understanding the actual situation. Under the Child Abuse Prevention Law, the administrative side does not have the authority to instruct and supervise religious groups, etc., and it is necessary to think about what can be done in that context. There is."
In addition, an official from the National Police Agency said, "Regardless of abuse or religious issues, we will handle them strictly according to the facts. Children's safety is important, and we will work with related organizations to deal with things that should be protected. I will continue.”