Journalist Eito Suzuki appeared live on Arc Times: The News on December 27, 2022, and said he will figure out the relationship between the Unification Church and former PM Yoshihide Suga, former minister Takuya Hirai, or former minister Ryota Takeda—-By Arc Times editorial staff

I have some information on former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

—Q, Which politician would you like to reveal his or her relationship with the Unification Church ?

“Well, I have some information about Yoshihide Suga, and I would like to go back in history to see what happened in his electoral district of Kanagawa, and to follow up on the role he played. I have a view of how things might have gone, so I’m trying to fill in the pieces. ”

“I’m thinking that there may have been a lot that occurred in Kanagawa since Mr. Suga, in his early days, worked as secretary to Hikosaburo Okonogi, a big-name LDP member from Kanagawa constituency.”

—Q, Are you saying it is not that Mr. Suga took over the connection with the Unification Church from former PM Abe, but that he had his own connection with the Church from the beginning, in Kanagawa?

“Yes. I think it might be possible to speculate that Mr. Suga provided some contacts with the Unification Church, to Mr. Abe, who had some distance from them. ”

“I heard that Mr. Suga secretly told his innner circle that the Unification Church was Abe’s business, not his. It seems to me that it is an attempt by Mr. Suga to put the entire responsibility on the late Mr. Abe. Until now, Mr. Suga has made no comment about his relationship with the Church and has never given a straight answer. So it’s important to consider that Mr. Suga has secretly pushed the agenda that it was Abe’s deal, not his. I feel that it is a bit different from the information I have. Please stay tuned. ”

Former digital minister Takuya Hirai may have been one of the key players.

“As for other politicians, former minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Ryota Takeda has not been reported on his connection to the Church at all, and former digital minister Takuya Hirai has been sparsely reported on. There are many other big names who have played various roles, but not really being revealed yet. We cannot see the whole picture unless we follow up on them properly.”

—Q, What is the relationship between Takuya Hirai and the Unification Church?

“I see signs that he was involved in various machinations in the relationship between the Unification Church and the first Abe administration. It is not simply a matter of using the church or being used by the church. I suspect that he was one of the key players in the various interactions between the Church and the LDP administrations, and that he may have been involved in the machinations themselves. He was also the director of the LDP’s Internet Media Bureau.”

—Q, Takuya Hirai is the one who came out during the “Unite” student group, who claimed a group of conservative students, that came out in defense of Abe against the SEALDs, a student group critical of Abe.

“Yes. He said the view that all college students were SEALDs was wrong. For some reason, he was supporting “Unite” a lot.

“It’s important to note that Ryota Takeda was the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications.”

—Q, Ryota Takeda also participated in a delegation of Diet members to the U.S. in 2017 that was accompanied by Unification Church leaders, and he appears in rather important places, and it seems that he is valued by the Unification Church side.

“He even received a “Return to the Nation” order* from Unification Church’s President Han Hak-ja in South Korea. I think the key point is that he was Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. As said ministry oversaw TV stations, it was hard for the media to criticize him.”

—Q, The other day, there was talk in political circles that Mr. Ryota Takeda might have been considered as a new Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. Though PM Kishida chose Matsumoto over Takeda as a new minister, Kishida himself repeatedly misstated “Minister Takeda” when he appointed Matsumoto. I felt that Eito’s report on Takeda’s connection to the Unification Church might have prevented him to become a new minister.

I’m not sure. So far, he has been sneaking around, hiding well, and making no comment on any interviews with local TV stations.

＊〝A “Return to the Nation” order is a mission to return to one’s own country and make the Unification Church the religion of that country.