Unification Church in Japan offers to set aside up to $66 million in a compensation fund

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — The Unification Church’s Japanese branch plans to set aside up to $67 million to cover possible compensation for people seeking damages they say were caused by the group’s manipulative fundraising tactics. The move announced Tuesday was seen as an attempt to allay suspicion that the group would try to avoid later payouts by hiding assets overseas while a government-requested dissolution order is pending. The group’s fundraising and recruitment tactics, as well as its cozy ties with Japan’s long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party, surfaced in an investigation after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s assassination last year. The accused shooter allegedly was motivated by Abe’s links to the church and blamed it for bankrupting his family.