Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan

Founded in 1951, the Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan (新日本宗教団体連合会) has sought world peace and has organized memorial ceremonies for war victims. The federation is composed of new-religion believers, and they opposed Prime Ministers’ visits to Yasukuni Shrine on the principle of separation of government and religion.

They published a statement to criticize the government for reinterpreting Article 9 to enable Japan to enact its collective self-defense in 2014. The statement expressed apprehensions that the government would easily change interpretations on the constitution in the future, especially regarding the “freedom of thought, religion, and speech.”

In 2015 and 2016, they also released statements to express anxiety that the Liberal Democratic Party's 2012 draft loosens the separation of government and religion and emphasizes the state rather than individual freedoms and rights.