Overview
- The ruling takes effect at once, stripping the group of religious-corporation status and tax benefits while allowing members to continue activities only as a private organization.
- Liquidation will proceed even if the church files a special appeal to the Supreme Court, pausing only if a higher court overturns the order.
- A court-appointed liquidator will manage assets estimated at ¥118.1 billion to fund compensation for people harmed by the group's solicitation practices.
- Courts found decades of unlawful, financially ruinous donation tactics that caused about ¥20.4 billion in losses, despite the church's claims of tightened compliance since 2009.
- The case intensified after Shinzo Abe's 2022 assassination and subsequent scrutiny of the group's political ties, leading the government to seek dissolution in 2023.