Unification Church ex-members in Japan rail at politicians who embraced it

A no trespassing sign is placed outside the entrance of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, more commonly known as the Unification Church is seen at its Tokyo headquarters in Tokyo, Japan August 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

TOKYO (Reuters) - When Sun Myung Moon, the Korean founder of the Unification Church, needed money for its extensive spiritual and business ventures he would look to Japan, according to some former members.

"Senior officials would tell us he needed hundreds of millions of dollars and that Japan had to pay," said Masaki Nakamasa, a Kanazawa University professor who was a member of the church for 11-and-a-half years until 1992.