FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Dan Fefferman

(301) 789-1589

HUMAN RIGHTS EXPERT SAYS JAPAN IN “COLLUSION” WITH

CRIMINALS

TOKYO, (August 30, 2010) – At the recent European Leadership Conference and Fact
Finding Tour to Japan, international human rights expert Aaron Rhodes discussed human
rights abuses taking place in Japan.

Mr. Rhodes, the former Executive Director for the International Helsinki Federation of
Human Rights, said the forced conversions and abductions of members of the Unification
Church in Japan are in direct violation of United Nations human rights agreements.

“This is a nightmare,” Mr. Rhodes said of the Japanese government, “because public
authorities are in collusion with criminals.”

Mr. Rhodes described the forced deprogramming of Unification Church members in

Japan a violation of the most basic human rights, saying victims are coerced by physical
force to change and present a confession.

Members of the audience were encouraged to contact the Asian Pacific Forum of
National Human Rights Institutions (APF) to pressure the Japanese government and
embarrass them for their inactivity on abductions and forced conversions.

In 2009, the University of Chicago awarded Mr. Rhodes the prestigious Public Service
Award. He is regarded as one of the world’s leading human rights activists and is
respected for his work on challenges in the Balkans, in Chechnya, and in Central Asia.

Mr. Rhodes rebuked Japan’s judicial system for not acting independently but with
prejudice against religious minorities – a grave indictment against a liberal democracy
with an otherwise good record on human rights.

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