Tag - church

 
 

CHURCH

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (left) and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visit the cenotaph for atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima on May 21 during the Group of Seven summit. Zelenskyy’s visit to one of the two cities attacked with a nuclear weapon came amid Russia’s veiled threats to use its nuclear arsenal in its war against Ukraine.
JAPAN
Dec 28, 2023
Images of 2023: Japan
Outside of the successful G7 summit, the year was not kind to PM Fumio Kishida's unpopular administration. A kickback scandal provided one final headache.
The Tokyo headquarters of the Unification Church in Shibuya Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2023
Japan enacts law to monitor Unification Church assets
The special legislation is designed to ensure that victims of the organization's malpractices have a source of relief.
The Lower House plenary session approves the relief bill in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 5, 2023
Bill for victims' relief in Unification Church case clears Lower House
The bill aims to prevent a religious organization's assets from being transferred overseas so that it can be set aside to provide relief.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks to reporters in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Dec 4, 2023
Kishida denies media report of ties to Unification Church
The prime minister reportedly had an exchange with Masayoshi Kajikuri, the head of the Universal Peace Federation Japan, in 2019.
Police inspect the site of a bomb attack inside a gymnasium at Mindanao State University in Marawi, the Philippines, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 4, 2023
Philippines IDs suspects after IS-claimed bombing at Sunday Mass
Authorities have vowed to hunt down those behind the blast, which was claimed by Islamic State militants.
Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. visits wounded victims of an explosion that happened during a Catholic Mass in a gymnasium at Mindanao State University, in Marawi, the Philippines, on Sunday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 3, 2023
Philippine military on high alert after bombing called terrorism
The blast happened during a regular service at Mindanao State University's gymnasium in Marawi, the country's largest Muslim city.
Argentina's President-elect Javier Milei has frequently referred to both his study of the Torah — the Jewish scripture that is also the first part of the Christian Bible — and his identity as a Catholic.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 30, 2023
Javier Milei's spirituality: Catholicism, Torah and a 'libertarian' God
Argentine President-elect has offered glimpses into how his seemingly contradictory spiritual practices influence his idiosyncratic worldview.
Pope Francis had planned to attend the COP28 conference in Dubai this week, but canceled on Tuesday due to health concerns.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Nov 29, 2023
U.S. bishops cling to fossil fuels, despite Pope's 2015 appeal
Not a single diocese has announced it has let go of its fossil fuel assets since the pope's landmark encyclical on environmental stewardship.
Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Masahiko Shibayama discusses a bill during a Lower House Judicial Affairs Committee session in Tokyo on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 24, 2023
Japan's parliament debates relief for Unification Church victims
The two separate bills being discussed are in part aimed at safeguarding and preventing the transfer of the church’s assets.
Members of the ruling parties announce a proposal on Unification Church asset protection in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 15, 2023
Lawmakers submit proposal to revise law on Unification Church assets
A group of lawmakers has submitted proposals to amend existing laws governing religious organizations, aiming to prevent the outflow of church funds.
Hiroyuki Hosoda is elected as Lower House Speaker in November 2021.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 10, 2023
Former Lower House speaker and LDP heavyweight Hiroyuki Hosoda dies
The seasoned lawmaker served in key posts in the government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including as chief Cabinet secretary.
Pope Francis greets people during the weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican on Wednesday.
WORLD / Society
Nov 9, 2023
Transgender people can be godparents or baptized, Vatican says
The Vatican's doctrinal office posted three pages of questions and answers on the topic in response to queries from a bishop in Brazil.
Tomihiro Tanaka, president of the Japan branch of the Unification Church also known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, bows his head in apology during a news conference on Tuesday in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 7, 2023
Unification Church ready to set aside ¥10 billion fund for victims
The announcement was made as lawmakers contemplate measures to secure the church’s assets if the court decides to strip the group of its special status.
The Tokyo headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Unification Church
JAPAN / Society
Nov 6, 2023
Unification Church to propose up to ¥10 billion in compensation
The Unification Church plans to entrust up to ¥10 billion to the government to compensate former followers for claimed damages.
The Unification Church headquarters in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward
JAPAN / Society
Oct 23, 2023
Unification Church tells branches to manage assets based on law
Lawmakers are stepping up efforts to ensure the assets of the Japan affiliate will be used to help victims of the group's donation tactics.
The late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, founder of the Unification Church, is depicted on a leaflet marking the first anniversary of his death in September 2012
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 16, 2023
Japan's media has to account for its failures, too
The Unification Church is set to be dissolved and Johnny & Associates is undergoing structural reforms. What role did the media play, or not play?
Nobuo Okamura (right), an executive handling legal affairs for the Unification Church, speaks during a news conference on Monday at the organization's headquarters in Tokyo, as the church's lawyer Nobuya Fukumoto looks on.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 16, 2023
Unification Church calls government move a violation of rights
A news conference offered a glimpse of how the church will defend itself against a request to revoke its religious corporation status.
The Tokyo headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, also known as the Unification Church
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 15, 2023
Japan opposition seeks law on Unification Church asset protection
Despite differing views on method, the CDP and Nippon Ishin no Kai want to prevent the organization's money being deliberately moved overseas.
Due to the small number of priests in the Orthodox Church in Japan, some have to care for as many as five different churches.
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / 20 QUESTIONS
Oct 14, 2023
Rev. Stephen Keiichi Uchida: 'Your life has value’
Rev. Stephen Keiichi Uchida serves as a priest in the Orthodox Church in Japan and leads three churches in rural Kushiro, Hokkaido.
The Japan headquarters of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, known as the Unification Church, in Tokyo on Friday
JAPAN / Explainer
Oct 13, 2023
What’s next in the Unification Church saga?
The government sought a court order on Friday to strip the Unification Church of its religious corporation status. The process is just beginning.

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