Education minister under fire for unreported ties to Unification Church

Scrutiny from the opposition intensified in Wednesday’s session of a Lower House committee after it became clear that education minister Masahito Moriyama had received electoral support in 2021 from an association affiliated to the religious group formerly known as the Unification Church.

The Asahi Shimbun reported on the same day that, in the run-up to the Lower House election of October 2021, Moriyama signed an agreement with the group that contained policy proposals on subjects such as education, constitutional revisions and LGBTQ issues.

This followed an early report published Tuesday that Moriyama had taken part in a meeting organized by the group in his home constituency in Kobe that month and secured a formal endorsement.