The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as the Unification Church, filed a special appeal to Japan's Supreme Court on March 9 to overturn a Tokyo High Court decision upholding its dissolution. The appeal follows the High Court's ruling last week supporting the Tokyo District Court's order. The dissolution is now effective, with liquidation procedures underway, though they could be halted if the Supreme Court revokes the order.
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, formerly known as the Unification Church, filed a special appeal to Japan's Supreme Court on Monday, March 9, 2026, seeking to overturn the Tokyo High Court's decision upholding its dissolution order.
The Tokyo District Court issued the dissolution order in March 2025, which the Tokyo High Court upheld on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. As a result, the group has lost its status as a religious corporation, and its officials have resigned. A court-appointed liquidator has begun procedures to liquidate assets in order to compensate victims whose donations were systematically and illegally solicited. If the Supreme Court revokes the order, these liquidation procedures will be halted.
The High Court's ruling confirmed that the church had caused a total of ¥7.4 billion in damages to at least 506 people between 1973 and 2016. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology submitted a request for dissolution in October 2023. This marks the first time a religious corporation has been ordered to dissolve for breaches of the Civil Code, following two prior examples of dissolutions under Japanese law.
The Religious Corporations Law stipulates that a court can order dissolution if the corporation commits acts in violation of laws and regulations that substantially harm public welfare.
