TOKYO -- The Japanese government on Friday submitted a request to the Tokyo District Court to revoke the corporate status of the scandal-hit Unification Church, after a monthslong investigation prompted by the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over his perceived links to the group last year.
The court will hold a closed hearing on the issue in the coming weeks to review the government's appeal. If it rules to dissolve the church as a "religious juridical corporation," the group will lose its official status and tax benefits, but will continue to exist solely as a religious organization.
