Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 46
estate. Most cases in which this declaration has been made are in relation to the Unification
Church. Over the past ten years this procedure has been quite effective.
Many young men and women who have participated in the Unification Church‘s joint mass-
wedding ceremony have submitted their registration of marriage earlier to the local city or
town offices, thus making their marriage legal under civil law, even though they still do not
actually intend or desire to live together as husband and wife. The Unification Church
usually tries to prevent believers intending to marry from discussing the marriage with their
families and leaving the Church. The Unification Church, as a matter of convenience, usually
urges its believers to legally register their marriages so as to facilitate the immigration
process and subsequent acquisition of residency status necessary when one spouse is a
non-national of the country of his or her marital partner. The Unification Church plans to
have its members live in foreign countries and work for the Church there. One former
believer registered her marriage as was required but quit the Unification Church prior to
actually living with her spouse. This former believer continues to be troubled by the fact
that she legally married a man with whom she never had sexual intercourse and who had
not yet decided when to start living with her.
To address this problem, over fifty actions were taken with a view to having such marriage
registrations declared invalid on the grounds that neither spouse actually intended or
desired to live with the other in married life. In Japan, the Supreme Court has declared such
a marriage between a Japanese man and woman invalid (Judgment of 25 April 1986).
Similar judgments were passed in about fifty cases in various areas throughout the country.
Today, the Unification Church tries to maneuver international marriages by pairing up, for
example, a Japanese woman and a Korean man. Some couples that it attempts to pair are
of the same nationality. They are all urged to participate in the mass-wedding ceremony
and to register their marriages. Meanwhile, the courts have ruled that such a marriage
between a Japanese woman and a Korean or American man is not valid under the law. In
the future, much trouble is expected as a result of these international Unification Church
marriages in terms of declaring the marriage invalid and in terms of divorce.
**********
Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Esq. is an attorney with Tokyo Kyodo Law office in Tokyo, Japan.
This paper is based on a talk given to AFF’s 2000 Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington.
This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 2001, Volume 18, Part
2, pages 43-68. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the bound
volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.
estate. Most cases in which this declaration has been made are in relation to the Unification
Church. Over the past ten years this procedure has been quite effective.
Many young men and women who have participated in the Unification Church‘s joint mass-
wedding ceremony have submitted their registration of marriage earlier to the local city or
town offices, thus making their marriage legal under civil law, even though they still do not
actually intend or desire to live together as husband and wife. The Unification Church
usually tries to prevent believers intending to marry from discussing the marriage with their
families and leaving the Church. The Unification Church, as a matter of convenience, usually
urges its believers to legally register their marriages so as to facilitate the immigration
process and subsequent acquisition of residency status necessary when one spouse is a
non-national of the country of his or her marital partner. The Unification Church plans to
have its members live in foreign countries and work for the Church there. One former
believer registered her marriage as was required but quit the Unification Church prior to
actually living with her spouse. This former believer continues to be troubled by the fact
that she legally married a man with whom she never had sexual intercourse and who had
not yet decided when to start living with her.
To address this problem, over fifty actions were taken with a view to having such marriage
registrations declared invalid on the grounds that neither spouse actually intended or
desired to live with the other in married life. In Japan, the Supreme Court has declared such
a marriage between a Japanese man and woman invalid (Judgment of 25 April 1986).
Similar judgments were passed in about fifty cases in various areas throughout the country.
Today, the Unification Church tries to maneuver international marriages by pairing up, for
example, a Japanese woman and a Korean man. Some couples that it attempts to pair are
of the same nationality. They are all urged to participate in the mass-wedding ceremony
and to register their marriages. Meanwhile, the courts have ruled that such a marriage
between a Japanese woman and a Korean or American man is not valid under the law. In
the future, much trouble is expected as a result of these international Unification Church
marriages in terms of declaring the marriage invalid and in terms of divorce.
**********
Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Esq. is an attorney with Tokyo Kyodo Law office in Tokyo, Japan.
This paper is based on a talk given to AFF’s 2000 Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington.
This article is an electronic version of an article originally published in Cultic Studies Journal, 2001, Volume 18, Part
2, pages 43-68. Please keep in mind that the pagination of this electronic reprint differs from that of the bound
volume. This fact could affect how you enter bibliographic information in papers that you may write.
