Unificationist Pledges to Keep Fighting for Fair Treatment at Japanese University
Abduction
and forced confinement are not the only problems Unificationists face
in Japan. Incoming university students sometimes face persecution or
discrimination from bigoted faculty and administration employees. Many
university authorities across Japan have made “cult counter-measure”
presentations to show at student orientations for incoming freshmen.
Posters titled “Beware of Cults” have a list of “dangerous cults” with
the Unification Church included at the top of the list.
Second-generation
Unificationists who apply for admission to a university have high hopes
and dreams when they enter their desired college. However, because the
image of the Unification Church is negative, many second generations
hesitate to reveal their religious identities throughout their college
life. They also have a difficult time searching for jobs due to their
beliefs. University professors have threatened the Collegiate
Association for the Research of Principle (CARP) students by saying they
will not receive credits for their classes, have their grades dropped
or will not find employment. There are even university authorities who
introduce cult experts to students in order to persuade them to break
their Unificationists faith. The cult experts often support faith
breakings by abduction, confinements and forced conversions.
Unificationist
Hanayo Ito, a 24-year-old college student and CARP president at Chiba
University, has been one of the brave second-generation Japanese sisters
who has stood up to religious prosecution. During the summer of 2012,
she visited New York and Maryland, to inform fellow church members and
to seek help on the issue from fellow second- generation members. (An article about her was posted on the Family Federation website)
She had filed for court-assisted arbitration with Chiba University on March 19, 2013.
The
following is a result of the arbitration hearing request Hanayo Ito
sent to the court house against the Chiba University through a lawyer,
posted on her Facebook wall:
“You
may already know me from our university, and some of you may be
surprised to read this post. I was born into the Unification Church as a
second-generation; and I am currently the CARP president at Chiba
University where I am a student. Because I was born into this religion, I
am still questioning whether the faith I believe in is ‘right’ and
wonder how I should live my life.
“It
is going to be a long post, but I would like to write my honest
feelings and truth. I have recently filed arbitration at the court.
“Chiba
University has regarded new religions, including the Unification
Church, as dangerous without knowing the actual religious situations.
This kind of criticism has been going on and has been affecting the CARP
members who have been working diligently to contribute to society.
Individuals have been bullied, called out and have been receiving
disturbances and threatened with disruptions of their academic courses.
Many of us have endured these treatments and have kept silent for too
long. You may know more detailed contents, because we have been taking
public actions to gain recognition and understanding from Chiba
University. However, it is a very complicated issue to handle with only
the power of students. Therefore, we decided to ask a third-party lawyer
to help us file this arbitration.
“The effort at arbitration failed; Chiba University was not willing to discuss anything with their students.
“Who
and what are universities for? I am dreaming of becoming a university
professor in the future. I believe universities are for people to
explore and to gain higher understanding in academics, and to support
the students’ motivation and enthusiasms -- not to protect the fame of
the universities and their professors. I did not ask for arbitration to
protect my own faith, but instead to ask for guaranteed protection of
the freedom of religion. I thought it would be the best for Japan.
“I
do not know if what I have been doing is right or wrong. If I am wrong,
I will have to look back and change the way I live my life. I may even
be able to start off a new life. However, if the actions I have taken
were the correct thing to do, I will try my best to pursue justice.
“I
would like to give hope to those people who are struggling with the
same problem by showing there is a student who is trying to make a
change to this reality.”
Ito
asks for the understanding and support for her efforts from the
American Unificationist members and other people of faith. The fight
against religious persecution will continue until the day Japanese
Unificationists can confidently witness on university campuses and
pursue goals according to their religious beliefs.
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