本投稿は以下の記事のDeepL翻訳（一部、管理人修正済み）です。
This post is a DeepL translation (partially revised by the blog administrator) of the following article.
Koichi Hagiuda, Chairman of the Political Affairs Bureau, asks the Unification Church to support Akiko Ikuta's election? Church official says, "Mr. Hagiuda is like family
Domestic Politics
August 16, 2022
■Koichi Hagiuda, Chairman of the Policy Research Council Instructed not to "turn the video around."
With the launch of the second Kishida cabinet, Koichi Hagiuda assumed the post of policy chief. It was revealed that Mr. Hagiuda had accompanied Ms. Akiko Ikuina to a church-related facility to request support for her in the recent Upper House election.
***
Mr. Hagiwada has so far defended his relationship with the Unification Church, saying that it was not intended. However, those involved with the Unification Church counter that the actual situation is different. In 2009, Mr. Hagiuda lost the lower house election that triggered the LDP's fall from power, and he was forced to live as in a disemployment situaion for three years until 2012.
During that time, he visited us once or twice a month at a church facility in Hachioji City. The facility had an auditorium on the third floor, where he gave speeches to dozens of believers.
At Mr. Hagiuda's speech, "a special message" was given to the congregation.
"When Mr. Hagiuda gave a speech in front of everyone, the head of the church, the head of the youth department, and other leaders instructed the congregation not to show the video."
Apparently, the intention was to leave no evidence behind.
■To his followers, Mr. Hagiuda is "like family.
He also said, "Isn't it a bit heartless of a human being to try to eliminate any relationship with the Unification Church after all this time? In the past, he used to come to our Sunday barbecue parties, which also served as worship services, in his track suit. When Mr. Hagiuda came, the place would be filled with excitement, and I remember how we all enjoyed our time together. I remember the time we all spent together enjoying each other's company, because his followers considered him like "family".
According to a local Hachioji political insider, Hagiuda's secretary always attended the annual Christmas party hosted by the Women's Federation for World Peace, an affiliate of the Unification Church, at a banquet hall in Hachioji City around Christmas Eve, and Hagiuda himself, accompanied by his wife, showed up several times.
■Request for support from the Unification Church for Ms. Akiko Ikuina
Hagiuda's involvement with the Unification Church also had an impact on the recent Upper House election.
Former "Onyanko Club" member Akiko Ikuina won her first election in the Tokyo electoral district.
"Onyanko Club" is a large all-girl Japanese pop idol group in the 1980s.
Mr. Hagiuda, who led the campaign to retain her, reportedly visited Unification Church-related facilities in Hachioji City with Ms. Ikuina during the election and asked for her support. When we questioned Mr. Ikuina's office about this matter, they replied.
"After the speech in Hachioji, a person who was listening to the speech said, 'I have friends nearby who were not able to come here and would like to hear directly from Ms. Ikuina'. The staff consulted with him, and he stopped by (at a church facility) in between the next schedule. At that time, Mr. Hagiuda, who was at the site of the speech, accompanied us".
Mr. Hagiuda admitted that he and Ms. Ikura had stopped by the facility, and he also said that the relationship between his church but that "We had not asked for any support for the election campaign. There is no fact that I participated in any services or barbecues organized by the Unification Church".
The August 17 issue of "Shukan Shincho" will report in detail on the full details of the Unification Church-backed cabinet.
Weekly Shincho, August 25, 2022 issue
