On Tuesday, March 25, victims of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), better known as the "Moon sect," welcomed Japan's court order for its dissolution. If upheld on appeal, the decision would mean that the sect will no longer be entitled to the tax benefits granted to official religious organizations. However, it will be able to continue its activities on a voluntary basis, and its followers will be able to continue practicing.

"The victims have been heard," said Susumu Murakoshi, the president of a team of lawyers representing victims of the sect's alleged extortion through pressure and manipulation." I knew how bad the Unification Church was, and I was sure this decision would be made," said Tatsuo Hashida, whose former wife donated 100 million yen (over €600,000) to the organization.

Unsurprisingly, the leader of the Moon sect in Japan Tomihiro Tanaka has contested a decision based "on the claims of former followers who betrayed us," and said it will appeal. The case against the FFWPU was initiated after the former prime minister Shinzo Abe (2012-2020) was assassinated in 2022 by Tetsuya Yamagami – he apparently wanted to avenge his family, which was ruined following his mother's donations to the sect. He believed Abe had ties with the organization, which was created in 1954 in South Korea by Sun Myung Moon (1920-2012).

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