後藤徹さんの『死闘』発刊記念講演会

先日２月１０日の、１２年拉致監禁された後藤徹さんの『死闘』発刊記念講演会　こちら　につき、改めて、デモに参加した私の名義で、英語で、国際的に報告しておきました。

おってBitter Winterに記載されます。

～～～以下邦訳の引用～～～

12年以上脱会屋に監禁された旧統一教会信者・後藤徹氏の自伝が出版

旧統一教会が解散になると、忌まわしき「ディプログラミング（拉致監禁・強制改宗）」がまた引き起こされる

弁護士　中　山　達　樹

図１:自伝『死闘』の出版記念講演会で、自身の体験を語る全国拉致監禁・強制改宗被害者の会の後藤徹代表（写真:世界日報)

後藤徹氏（61歳）は、世界平和統一家庭連合（旧統一教会）の信者を標的として行われた拉致監禁・強制改宗の被害を受けた者で構成される全国拉致監禁・強制改宗被害者の会代表として、自伝『死闘　監禁4536日からの生還』を出版した。

本書で後藤氏は、親族や脱会屋によって12年間監禁された経験と、解放後に始めた訴訟につき触れている。

後藤氏は、家庭連合を異端視するキリスト教の牧師や脱会屋・宮村峻氏の指導を受けた親族により、31歳から44歳までの12年５か月間、マンションで監禁された。

監禁された東京都杉並区のマンションから解放されたちょうど17年目にあたる2025年２月20日、家庭連合の信者・後藤氏は約300人の聴衆を前に、自伝の出版を発表する記念講演を行った。

後藤氏は講演の中で、強制改宗を目的とした信者の拉致監禁を「全ての自由を奪う、戦後最悪の人権侵害」と説明した。

実際、後藤氏は19度にわたり選挙権を行使できなかった。監禁当初の６年間は、監禁場所の住所　-それが東京なのか何処なのか-　すら知らされなかった。

後藤氏は、自伝出版にあたり、「信仰の自由というものが一体どういうものか、考えるきっかけになれば」と語った。

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講演会には家庭連合の田中富広会長も招かれ、「絶対に許せないのは、人間として断ち切れない親子の情が悪用されたことだ」と強調した。

監禁被害者は、加害者が親であるだけに、加害者を完全に憎むことすらできなかった。愛と憎しみのはざまで、悶え苦しんだのである。

田中会長は「この本で後藤さんの『死闘』を追体験できる」旨を語った。

また、田中会長は「仮に家庭連合が解散になったら、その瞬間にまた拉致監禁が起こるでしょう」と強い懸念を表明した。

2015年、後藤徹氏が脱会屋らに民事裁判で勝利後、家庭連合信者に対する拉致監禁は激減した。

しかし、家庭連合が解散になった場合、信者の親族は家庭連合を「反社会的だ」と感じ、違法な拉致監禁により信者を「保護」（実際は監禁）しようとするおそれが高まる。

拉致監禁の悪質性・非人道性は、日本ではまだ十分に認識されていないからである。そのため、この本は、拉致監禁問題に詳しくない人に広く読まれてほしい。

講演では、日本基督教団の元牧師で、現在は独立系牧師の岩本龍弘氏が祝辞を述べ、統一教会を攻撃するために拉致監禁（同教団は「保護説得」と主張）を計画・助長してきた日本基督教団の古くからの党派的な立場を強調した。

反カルト「ジャーナリスト」の鈴木エイトに対し名誉毀損訴訟で後藤氏を代理して勝訴した徳永信一弁護士は、「この『死闘』は、アウシュビッツ収容所体験につきV.E.フランクルが著した名著『夜と霧』の日本版である」と述べ、長期監禁から解放された直後の後藤徹の姿が「現代のホロコースト」と呼ばれることを彷彿させた。

講演後、参加者は後藤氏が監禁されていたマンションまで約3ｋｍのラリー行進を行い、後藤氏を先頭にして「信教の自由と基本的人権を守ろう」「家庭連合信者に対する拉致監禁・強制棄教は犯罪だ」などのスローガンを叫んだ。

画像2:田中富広家庭連合会長（前列右端）、後藤徹氏（前列右から２番目）、徳永信一弁護士（左から３番目）及び中山達樹弁護士（左端）は、拉致監禁・強制改宗の違法性を訴えるべく行進した（写真：世界日報）。

～～～以下英語原文～～～

Toru Goto, Unification Church Member Held by Deprogrammers for Over 12 Years, Publishes His Autobiography 

The horrors of deprogramming need to be remembered, as they can come back if the Unification Church will be dissolved as a religious organization in Japan.

By Tatsu Nakayama

Figure 1: Toru Goto, President of Japan Victims’ Association Against Religious Kidnapping & Forced Conversion, speaks about his experience at a lecture given for the publication of his autobiography “Desperate Struggle” (photo by Sekai Nippo).

Toru Goto (61), the President of Japan Victims’ Association Against Religious Kidnapping & Forced Conversion, which consists of victims who were abducted, confined, and forced to renounce their faith, mainly members of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (formerly the Unification Church), has published his autobiography entitled “Desperate Struggle: Survival from 4,536-day Confinement.” 

In this book, Goto recounts his experience of being confined for twelve years by his family and deprogrammers, as well as the court proceedings he launched after his release. 

On 10th February, 2025, exactly 17 years after he was released by his family from the apartment used for confinement at Suginami ward in Tokyo, Goto held a commemorative lecture to announce the publication of his autobiography, which was attended by around 300 people.

Goto, a member of the Family Federation, was held captive in an apartment building for twelve years and five months from the age of 31 to 44 by his relatives who were so instructed by Christian pastor and professional deprogrammer Takashi Miyamura, who viewed the Family Federation as heretic. 

In his lecture, Goto described the abduction and confinement of believers for the purpose of deprogramming as “the worst human rights violation since World War II, taking away any and all freedom.” 

He was unable to exercise his right to vote 19 times. He was not informed of the location address where he was confined (whether it was in Tokyo or somewhere else) for the first six years of confinement. 

In this occasion of the publication of his autobiography, he said, “I hope this book will serve as an opportunity for people to think about what religious freedom really means.”

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Tomihiro Tanaka, President of the Family Federation, was also invited as a guest to the lecture. Tanaka emphasized, “What is absolutely unforgivable is that the affection between parent and child, which cannot be severed, was exploited for this wicked confinement.” 

The confined victims could not fully hate the perpetrators because they were their parents. They were left in the agonized ambivalent psychological state between love and hate. 

President Tanaka said,“If you read this book, you will vicariously experience the ‘Desperate Struggle’ fought by Mr. Goto.” 

President Tanaka also expressed his concern, “If the Family Federation were to be dissolved, abductions and confinements would occur again.” 

The abduction and confinement of Family Federation believers became rare after Toru Goto’s victory over his tormentors in the civil suit in 2015. 

However, if the Family Federation is held to be dissolved at the pending court process, then the relatives of believers would be more likely to feel that the Family Federation is “anti-social” and to try to “protect” the devotees by way of unlawful abduction and confinement.  

As such, the maliciousness and inhumaneness of the abduction and confinement are not yet fully recognized in Japan. I wish this book could serve to enlighten those who are unfamiliar with this issue. 

At the lecture, Tatsuhiro Iwamoto, a former pastor of the United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ) and now an independent pastor, made a congratulatory address. He emphasized the historical “partisan” stand of the UCCJ, which has plotted and endorsed abductions and confinements to attack the Unification Church. 

Shinichi Tokunaga, a lawyer who represents Goto in the defamation suit against an anti-cult journalist, Eight Suzuki, commented that this book shall be the Japanese version of the world-famous “Man’s Search For Meaning: An Introduction to Logotherapy” written by psychologist Viktor Emil Frankl about his experiences in Nazi concentration camps. 

Tokumaga compared him to the modern-day-Holocaust-like figure of Toru Goto, who wrote his book after the lengthy confinement. 

After the lecture, the participants marched about three kilometers to the apartment where Goto was held captive. 

With Goto at the front, the participants shouted slogans such as “Let’s protect religious freedom and fundamental human rights” and “The abduction, confinement, and forced de-conversion of the Family Federation believers is a crime.” 

Image 2: President Tanaka (far right in the front), Toru Goto (second from the right in the front),  Shinichi Tokunaga (third from left), and Tatsu Nakayama (far left) who marched to appeal the illegality of the abduction, confinement, and deprogramming (photo by Sekai Nippo).

死闘 監禁4536日からの生還 後藤徹 創藝社