Japanese Mainichi report… “I received 90 million won per minute.”
Former Vice President Pence also gave a lecture and received 700 million won.
Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun reported on the 12th that former U.S. President Donald Trump received a total of $2.5 million (approximately 3.35 billion won) from organizations related to the Unification Church (now the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification) in 2021 and 2022 for three lectures. did.
In the United States, to ensure transparency in presidential elections, a financial report recording recent income must be submitted. Mainichi obtained financial reports submitted to the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) by former President Trump and former Vice President Pence, who are aiming to run for president next year.
The newspaper reported that upon comparing this official document with litigation materials in Japan, it was revealed that former President Trump had received such lecture fees.
The Universal Peace Federation (UPF), a Unification Church friendly group headquartered in New York, USA, paid former President Trump such a large amount of lecture fees.
Specifically, former President Trump’s financial report includes ①UPF Badminster, New Jersey, August 26, 2021/lecture/income $500,000 ②UPF World Summit Palm Beach, Florida, February 10-14, 2022/lecture/income $1 million ③UPF World Summit Badminster, New Jersey July 25, 2022/Lecture/Income of $1 million, etc. are listed.
① It appears that President Trump filmed a video message in Badminton on August 26 of the same year to send it to an online event held by UPF based in Korea on September 12, 2021. ② It appears that President Trump filmed a video at his Palm Beach home for UPF to send to the ‘World Summit 2022’ held in Seoul, Korea from February 10 to 14, 2022.
Likewise, ③ appears to have recorded that former President Trump filmed himself in Badminster on July 25 of the same year to send a video to an event held by UPF in Seoul from August 11 to 15, 2022.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, former President Trump’s running mate, also received $550,000 (about 740 million won) from UPF after giving one lecture.
The videos sent by former President Trump total approximately 28 minutes. The newspaper pointed out that he was paid about 10 million yen (about 90 million won) per minute.
Vice President Pence’s document stated that ④UPF Seoul, Korea February 13, 2022 (payment to lecture agency)/income of $550,000. This is a record of receiving lecture fees after filming a video to be sent to World Summit 2022.
It is unusual for an official document to be revealed that UPF paid a large amount of compensation to an American politician. Attorney Shinichi Tokunaga, who is serving as an attorney for the UPF Japan branch’s lawsuit, also told the newspaper, “This is my first time seeing it.”
Attorney Tokunaga confirmed to the newspaper that, in relation to ①, it is true that UPF sent a large amount of money to former President Trump.
Regarding ②~④, the newspaper analyzed that the timing and situation were appropriate considering the contents of UPF’s web homepage and the event video released.
However, the newspaper said that it sent an email to the election campaigns of former President Trump and former Vice President Pence with questions about speaking fees, but received no response. The Unification Church in Japan declined to answer, telling questions to UPF. The UPF headquarters and Japanese branch also did not respond to Mainichi’s questions.
Yasuo Kawai, a lawyer at Japan’s National Unification Church Victims’ Legal Team, pointed out that their large speaking fees “may have been donations received from Japanese believers, the main source of income for the church (Unification Church).” He said that a significant portion of the lecture fee “may have been financed through donations.”
The Unification Church in Japan stated, however, that “the Japanese corporation is not aware of how the World Headquarters (of the Unification Church) distributes donations from Japan around the world.” The newspaper reported that it also sent questions to the World Headquarters of the Unification Church in Korea, but received no response.
The UPF claims that unlike former President Trump, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gave his speech for free. Former Prime Minister Abe sent a video in September 2021.
In Japan, the issue of large donations to the Unification Church became controversial following the shooting of former Prime Minister Abe in July of last year. This is because the shooter at the time testified that her mother donated a large amount of money to the Unification Church as a daily offering, which ruined the family.
Accordingly, Prime Minister Kishida ordered Prime Minister Fumio to conduct an investigation into the Unification Church in October of last year and exercise the right to question.
Since November of last year, Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has exercised its right to question the Unification Church seven times based on the Religious Corporations Act. The investigation was conducted by requesting reports on at least 600 items, including organizational operations, large donations, and income and expenditures.
After a lengthy investigation, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology decided to request a dissolution order for the Unification Church on the afternoon of the 12th. On the 13th, they announced that they would file a claim with the Tokyo District Court (District Court).
Meanwhile, in July of this year, the Washington Post (WP) also cited detailed income details disclosed by former President Trump, saying that after leaving office, he gave lectures at two events hosted by the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (Unification Church) and received 200 won in return. It was reported that he received $10,000 (about 2.54 billion won).
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.