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Shūkyō nisei

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Shūkyō nisei (宗教2世), literally 'religion second generation', is a Japanese phrase, which refers to children being raised by their parents with a strong religious beliefs. These children may be forced to practice the same religion against their will by their parents.[1][2] They are also called karuto nisei (カルト2世, 'cult second generation') or nisei shinja (2世信者, 'second generation follower').[3][4] These children are reportedly often challenged by hardships, such as child neglect, child abuse and lack of psychological, financial, academic, and social independence because of their religious parents and the predatory practices of the religious organization. While shūkyō nisei are a longstanding social issue in Japan, the Japanese government has been accused of inaction.[5] Within the Unification Church, children born to the parents married in church sponsored mass wedding ceremonies are called the shukufuku nisei (祝福2世, 'blessed second generations').[6]

In July 2022, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated by Tetsuya Yamagami while giving a speech at the upper election campaign in Nara, which increased media scrutiny on the matter.[7][8]

Overview

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Testimonies from those who are concerned reveal that many of those children suffer from poverty caused by large donations that their parents make to their religious organizations. They also suffer from child neglect due to their parents disappearing for religious activities for several months at a time.[2][9] Many may be suffering from being forced to accept religious demands. Examples could include prohibitions on watching television, reading manga, attending a friend's birthday party, physical contact with the opposite gender, visiting temples and shrines of other religions, and participating in other religions' events, such as Christmas.[2][10][11][12]

There are cases where their human rights are violated by being prevented from enrolling in higher education[13][14][15] or finding employment. Moreover, some are forced to live with bizarre names selected by the founder[10] or forced to drink wine that is said to contain the guru's blood.[16]

Some shūkyō nisei who want to abandon their faith hesitate in fear of losing their parents' love.[17] In addition, even if they are able to leave the religious organization, they must sever relations with their parents. Therefore, they often struggle when they need a guarantor for employment or relocation of residence, which is a common requirement in Japan.[2] Even if they consult a local government office or hotline regarding child abuse or livelihood support, freedom of religion may be entangled with receiving support, as many of these cases are handled differently from those involving livelihood protection or domestic violence. Some are told that the authorities cannot intervene in religious matters, and that family matters should be discussed within the family first and turned away. There have also been cases in which people requested restrictions on access to residential records of their new addresses in order to escape their parents, but they were denied on the grounds that the issue was one between parent and child.[2][11]

Assassination of Shinzo Abe and its impacts on the shūkyō nisei

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The vicinity of Kintetsu Yamato-Saidaiji station northern entrance, where the Shinzo Abe shooting-to-death incident took place on July 8, 2022.
The vicinity of Kintetsu Yamato-Saidaiji station northern entrance, where former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated, took place on July 8, 2022.

On 8 July 2022, Tetsuya Yamagami, using a firearm that he had made,[18] shot and killed former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe while he was giving a speech at the upper election campaign in Nara. Yamagami stated that he targeted Abe due to his ties to the Unification Church (UC).

On December 31, 1984, when Yamagami was at the age of four, his father aged 37 committed suicide by jumping from the nearby apartment building. Yamagami's mother subsequently joined the UC when he was still a child. Later, his mother declared bankruptcy after donating most of the family assets to the church while leaving her children unattended and their illness untreated.[19] As a result, matters related to shūkyō nisei have been trending on social media,[5] and members of the Japanese government are urged to take drastic measures.[2][20][21]

Following Abe's assassination, online petitions for protecting shūkyō nisei are launched. One petition pleads for freedom of religion for shūkyō nisei so they are not bound by their parents' spiritual beliefs. This petition garnered over 37000 signatures on 30 July 2022.[22]

In October 2022, an outspoken shūkyō nisei victim under the pseudonym Sayuri Ogawa called for the disbandment of the UC at the press conference, but received messages from her parents via the church accusing her of being mentally unstable and demanding an end to the press conference.[23] An online petition for dissolving the UC accumulated over 200 thousand signatures on 22 November 2022.[24]

Government responses

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In October 2022, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had ordered his ministers to launch a probe against the UC to decide if the government would request the court to issue an order of removing the UC of its religious corporation status.[25] One focus of this probe was the allegedly illegal child adoption arrangement among the UC followers. The UC denied any organized arrangement.[26][27] In December 2022, when the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare submitted a second inquiry about the child adoption practice, the UC refused to answer more than half of the questions, and sent a letter of protest for the ministry.[28]

In December 2022, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare considered drafting new guidelines which would define what kinds of actions constitute religious abuse against children to better help shūkyō nisei. These include intimidating an individual with language such as "[you will] be damned to hell" (地獄に落ちる) and coercing an individual into participating in any religious activity.[29][30]

In literature

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The phrase shūkyō nisei entered the 2022 top 10 buzzword list in Japan.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Tsukada, Hotaka (2022-03-31). "小説・映画「星の子」が描く宗教・家族・学校" [Religion, family, and school as represented by the novel and film Hoshi no Ko（Child of the Stars, Under the Stars）]. Joetsu University of Education Research Bulletin. 41 (2): 393–406. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kiyonaga, Satoshi (2022-08-22). "旧統一教会と『宗教２世』問題" [The former UC and shūkyō nisei problems]. News Commentators Breau. Japan Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  3. ^ Fujikura, Yoshiro (2021-06-22). "「カルト2世問題」の行方" [The whereabouts of the cultist second generation problem shaken by NHK's special feature series]. RONZA. Asahi Shimbun Company. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  4. ^ "「教会のせいで人生をめちゃくちゃにされた」...『神の子』と言われて育った元２世信者が語る"苦悩とジレンマ" 自死を考えた際の"遺書"には「悔しい。悔しい。悔しい」" [My life was ruined by U C: A former shūkyō nisei who grew up being called a 'God's Child' talks about her anguish and dilemma. The death note she wrote when she was about to commit suicide says "mortified! mortified! mortified!"]. MBS News. Mainichi Broadcasting System, Inc. 2022-08-05. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Shinzo Abe killing: Why a religious group has been put in the spotlight", BBC News, 2022-07-23, retrieved 2022-10-12
  6. ^ "『祝福２世』と呼ばれた女性「大人になっても苦労している２世信者は多い」 旧統一教会会長がほとんど言及しなかった"２世信者問題"" 'Second-generation believers continue to face hardship as adults,' voice from the 'blessed second generation'. The 'second-generation problems' not touched on by the Unification Church chairperson, Tokyo Broadcasting System (in Japanese), 2022-08-12, retrieved 2022-10-08
  7. ^ "安倍元首相銃撃の波紋 "宗教2世"の苦悩", NHK (in Japanese), 2022-08-25, archived from the original on 2022-11-28, retrieved 2022-10-10
  8. ^ "Over 37,000 sign petition urging freedom of belief for Unification Church followers' kids", Mainichi Shimbun, 2022-07-30, retrieved 2022-12-13
  9. ^ Nakai, Natsumi (2022-08-17). "「毒親」の背景にあるもの 宗教2世の生きづらさ、議論すべき点とは" [What lies behind 'toxic parents'–The life struggles of shūkyō nisei and what should be discussed]. Asahi Shimbun Digital. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Shimada, Hiromi (2019-06-14). "親が創価学会の子の悲惨すぎる学校生活" [The miserable school life of children whose parents are in Soka Gakkai]. PRESIDENT Online. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  11. ^ a b ABEMA Prime (2022-08-09). "電話相談もシャットダウン「宗教絡みはおうちでなんとか…」 自助グループを立ち上げた元2世信者の研究者" [Telephone counseling shut down: 'Please solve religious affairs by yourself…' A former shūkyō nisei researcher launched a self-help group]. ABEMA TIMES. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  12. ^ Nippon Television Network (2022-08-17). "統一教会"2世「自由恋愛は最大の禁忌」「3日断食」――"宗教虐待"周知へ署名活動「宗教2世を助けてください」" [Unification Church nisei: Free love is the greatest taboo, 3-day fasting — Petition drive to spread awareness of religious abuse. Please save shūkyō nisei]. NittereNEWS. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  13. ^ Hisanaga, Ryuichi (2022-08-19). "宗教2世の子どもは置き去り？ 政府会合に厚労省不参加で疑問の声" [Shūkyō nisei children left behind? Questions raised about the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's non-participation in the government meeting]. Asahi Shimbun Digital. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  14. ^ Japan Broadcasting Corporation (2022-09-05). "旧統一教会の他にも…"宗教2世"たちの知られざる苦悩" [Not just the former Unification Church… the unknown sufferings of shūkyō nisei]. Close-Up Gendai. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  15. ^ Japan Broadcasting Corporation (2022-09-05). ""宗教2世"旧統一教会・信者の子どもたち 知られざる現実" [Shūkyō nisei: Children of former Unification Church believers — The unknown reality]. Close-Up Gendai. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  16. ^ Nippon Television Network (2022-07-19). "統一教会「2世信者」の苦悩 子供のころ"文鮮明氏の血が入っているとされるワイン"飲まされ…" [The agony of the Unification Church shūkyō nisei. When I was a child, I was forced to drink 'wine with Sun Myung Moon's blood']. NittereNEWS. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Ishida, Kanta (2022-12-16), "Balanced portrayal of religion unexpectedly well-timed", Yomiuri Shimbun, retrieved 2022-12-28
  18. ^ Who Is Tetsuya Yamagami? Suspected Shinzo Abe Assassin Had Homemade Gun
  19. ^ "容疑者母が旧統一教会に「献金1億円超」 親族が証言、夫の保険金も" [Relatives testify suspect's mother donated over 100 million yen to the former UC, including her husband's insurance money]. Asahi Shimbun Digital. 2022-07-13. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
  20. ^ Amamiya, Karin (2022-07-20). "「人生をめちゃくちゃにされた」安倍元首相銃撃事件、そして宗教二世問題" [My life was ruined: The assassination of former prime minister Abe and the problems of the shūkyō nisei]. HuffPost. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  21. ^ Oi, Mariko (2022-07-23). "安倍氏殺害事件で注目を集める「宗教2世」" [Shūkyō nisei in the spotlight after Abe's assassination]. BBCNEWS JAPAN. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
  22. ^ "Over 37,000 sign petition urging freedom of belief for Unification Church followers' kids", Mainichi Shimbun, 2022-07-30, retrieved 2023-08-06
  23. ^ "元2世信者が会見も…途中で旧統一協会が"中止要求"「私が正しいと思って下さるなら、どうか団体解散させて」 一方、細田衆院議長は"伝言ゲーム"で追加説明", Tokyo Broadcasting System (in Japanese), 2022-10-08, retrieved 2022-10-12
  24. ^ "Japan builds case to dissolve scandal-hit Unification Church", The Nikkei, 2022-11-22, retrieved 2023-08-06
  25. ^ "Japan PM eyes launching probe into controversial Unification Church", Kyodo News, 2022-10-16, retrieved 2022-12-27
  26. ^ "旧統一教会の養子縁組、2018年度以降31件 調査に回答" [The Unification Church answered that there have been 31 cases of child adoption arrangements since 2018], The Nikkei (in Japanese), 2022-12-06, retrieved 2022-12-27
  27. ^ "Japan to probe Unification Church's adoption system", The Japan Times, 2022-11-18, archived from the original on November 18, 2022, retrieved 2022-12-28
  28. ^ "半分以上が「回答拒否」…"統一教会"養子縁組の追加質問 厚労省に抗議文送付" [The Unification Church refused to answer more than half of the questions regarding the child adoption arrangement additional inquiry. Letter of protest for the Health Labour Ministry], Nippon TV (in Japanese), 2022-12-20, retrieved 2022-12-27 – via Yahoo News
  29. ^ "「信仰の強制は虐待」厚労省が宗教2世虐待めぐりガイドライン作成を検討" ['Imposing faith is an act of abuse.' The Health Labour Ministry considers making guidelines regarding the shūkyō nisei issues], Tokyo Broadcasting System (in Japanese), 2022-12-26, retrieved 2022-12-27
  30. ^ "Forced participation in religious activities to be classified as child abuse", Yomiuri Shimbun, 2022-12-27, retrieved 2022-12-28
  31. ^ "Yakult Swallows slugger 'Murakami-sama' tops Japan 2022 buzzword list", Kyodo News, The Japan Times, 2022-12-02, retrieved 2023-01-08
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