SEOUL -- Diplomatic documents newly released by South Korea's foreign ministry have revealed that Unification Church-founder Sun Myung Moon was allowed to enter Japan in 1992 through the intervention of Shin Kanemaru, then vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Moon, whose church is now formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, had served a prison sentence in the United States for tax evasion and would not have been allowed entry into Japan under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law.
The documents suggest that Kanemaru, who was eager to normalize Japan-North Korea relations, provided special consideration to Moon, who had deep connections with influential LDP figures and was a conduit to North Korea.
