Index of the Toru Goto's statement submitted to Tokyo District Court
- Personal History
- Joining Unification Church (1986)
- First Confinement (Oct 1987 - Nov 1987)
- After Escape from First Confinement
- Second Confinement
(1) Confinement in Niigata (Sep 1995)
(2) Transferred to First Apartment in Tokyo (1997)
(3) Transferred to Second Apartment in Tokyo (Dec 1997)
(4) Miyamura's Deprogramming Work (5) First Hunger Strike – 21 days
(6) Second Hunger Strike – 21 days
(7) Third Hunger Strike – 30 days
(8) Release from Prison - After Hospitalization
- At the End
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5. Second Confinement
(4) Miyamura’s Deprogramming Work (First Half)
While I was confined in the apartment, they even didn’t tell me where the apartment was. The transfer to another apartment was carried out at night, so it was difficult to identity where it was. One time, I asked my brother where it was. He refused to answer by saying, ”You don’t need it.” I now know the names and addresses of the 3 apartments which I was confined because policemen and prosecutors informed me of such details after I lodged a criminal complaint against captors. I learned that location of the Ogikubo Flower Home was at Ogikubo 3-Chome as I heard a voice over loudspeaker at the general election of the House of Representatives in 2003. I heard the loudspeaker saying “Hello, people in Ogikubo 3-Chome. This is Nobuaki Ishihara.”
When I was taken to Ogikubo Flower Home, I had no idea where it was. As mentioned before, my brother was employed by Miyamura’s Tap Co Ltd* after he left the UC. Also he was assisting Miyamura with his deprogramming work as a former UC member. I vaguely believed that it was Ogikubo area and expected Miyamura would show up soon. It recalled the suffering when I was confined at the Keio Plaza Hotel in 1987. Miyamura even appeared in my dream and made me suffer.
(*Tap Co Ltd = the company Miyamura owned.)
As expected, from early Jan 1998 to Sep 1998, Miyamura accompanied former UC members and visited the room 804 and forced me to abandon my faith. Miyamura stayed from 6pm to 8pm, and he visited the room almost daily at the beginning. The accompanying were <female> <female> <male, employee of Miyamura’s company> <a couple> <male> <female>. The man who was employed by Miyamura’s company was hiding in the garden and assisted the captors with my abduction and confinement when I was taken to Niigata on Sep 11, 1995.
Total of 7 to 12 people consisting of Miyamara, family members, former UC members gathered at the far back room, and they flung words of criticism, defamation and abuse at me. When Miyamura visited me in the room for the first time, he said, "Toru, it's been long time since then." I said, "You come here unexpectedly all of sudden." Miyamura replied, "If I don’t come in a hurry, you run away". Miymura’s comment was as if he announced that he confined me.
When <female> visited the room 804, she sat cross-legged in impolite manner and was smoking. She criticized me harshly for my last escape by saying, "You are a coward. You ran away last time, didn't you?" I got angry about the inhumane treatment, confinement and unbearable criminal act. I fiercely protested to Miyamura who showed no sight of conscience by saying, "Get me out of here. You say the Unification Church violates human rights, but the UC never abducts and detains people. You are violating human rights. What do you think of freedom of religion?"
Miyamura said, "Don't bluster. You are not qualified to claim your own human rights. I'm not confining you. Your family members are protecting you. If you want to get out, tell your family. You are not listening to people at all. Use your brains. Think well with your head." He taunted me by saying, "Unless you become to think with your head, you can't get out." Also he forced me to leave the church by threatening me, saying, "If my children don't leave the Unification Church, I will make a private prison and hold them until their faith is broken." Miyamura and <female> continue to insult me by using words such as idiot or stupid frequently.
Miyamura threatened me by saying, "If Sun Myung Moon is a Messiah and the Divine Principle is true, I commit seppuku*. If Sun Myung Moon is fake and the Divine Principle is not true, are you ready to do hara-kiri*?" Explain how the Divine Principle is true." He criticized the Divine Principle which explains the church doctrine and the book of "God’s will and the World" which consists of Rev. Moon's speeches, then he taunted me by saying,"It's proof that you are still mind-controlled as you still believe in such things."
(* seppuku = hara-kiri = suicide by disembowelment)
(* seppuku = hara-kiri = suicide by disembowelment)
Also Miyamura said that the founder of the church had sex relay called "Chiwake" at the early stage of the church”. He said hearsay information without proof, "Why does Sun Myung Moon like women so much? It is uncountable how many women he slept with." He forced me to listen to him, which I didn't want to, and it caused me tremendous psychological suffering.
I said, "Then I go back to the church to investigate. Let me get out of here." Miyamura refused flatly, "No, you can't. The Unification Church tells lies. Even if you go back, you never find out truth." I lamented that this apartment was a lawless area that was not covered by any law. I was in an unjust environment in which my freedom was deprived by confinement. My faith was fiercely criticized and it made me worn out. But I couldn't get information freely which I wanted to get.
Miyamura picked up the incident of my father and accused me repeatedly by saying, "You killed your father. Your father was killed by you. What would you do?" I was furious and replied to the unreasonable accusation by shouting, "You have to take me to the police if you think I killed him. Take me now."
The former UC members accompanied with Miyamura also got around to him and yelled at me. A female former UC member suddenly picked up the teacup and poured the green tea on me. My T-shirt got all wet.
Also my family members joined Miyamura’s forcible conversion work. My brother stood up suddenly during the session and screamed at me, "What is your attitude? I want to beat you within an inch of your life." My younger sister threatened me, "You've got to be prepared to be like this for the rest of your life if you don't change."
After Miyamura left, my family members continued to condemn me until around 9pm. My brother at one time slapped my face saying, "Why can’t you understand? I make you awaken."
When I was doing stretching exercises to change mood and to avoid lack of movement, my brother's wife angrily said to me, "How come you can do such things in this situation?" I wondered why she was so upset with such things and it disturbed me.
In this way, extreme difficult days under confinement continued by abusive words, yelling, violence and forcible conversion which were done by Miyamura & family members against my humanity. I was exhausted mentally and physically at the end of the day. When I imagined that same thing would continue the next day, feeling of despair attacked me as the sense of fear that I would be mentally deranged increased.
Miyamura and family members used to say to me, "You are not listening to me. Think with your head." I heard these words more than 100 times during the confinement. I countercharged them after I listened to them. I said to them, "I'm listening to you and thinking in my head." They didn't accept my words replying, "No, you are not listening. You are not thinking."
"Not Listening" in their context means "You don’t intend to accept our criticism on UC." "Think with your head" means "Admit the wrongness of the faith in the UC." "You won’t be released unless I accept their criticism on UC and abandon my faith." This was their unchangeable claim.
My brother also often said to me, "I'm not telling you to quit the church. As your family member, I can't leave you involved with such controversial church. Therefore I want you to be in a neutral position and think with your head. You have no time to think thoroughly if you are in the church. If you still say the Divine Principle is true, you have an obligation to explain to us as the church has too many troubles."
I opposed him by saying, "It doesn't make sense to be neural to think while I'm forced to be in the confinement. Japanese constitution guarantees the freedom of religion. This is abduction, confinement and forcible conversion." My brother replied, "This is not abduction, nor confinement. This is an emergency protection shelter." I said, "It's not true. See what I do." Then I tried to get out of the room. I was caught by him, and I got into a scuffle with my brother.
"Look. You don’t let me go out. What is this if this is not confinement? If you insist this is a protection, you are deceiving. Even done by family members, this is abduction and confinement. It is criminal. You will be criminal if I file complaints. I don't want you to become criminals. You have to get me out of here." My brother shouted, "Then, what kind of other option do we have. Tell me."
Soon after Miyamura and his supporters started to visit the apartment, influenza spread like a wildfire. Some of the family members including myself suffered influenza. I had a fever of nearly 40 degrees C (104 degrees F), but they did not take me to a doctor. I was given medication that was prescribed for my family who saw a doctor. While I suffered from influenza, Miyamura did not come in fear of contracting the virus. My brother said, "We have a short break." As soon as I recovered from the influenza, Miyamura started to visit the apartment, and harsh and forcible conversion work resumed. While I was struggling with high fever, I felt frustrated with not letting me see a doctor. I was frightened to imagine "If I become ill more seriously, they will not take me a doctor and I may die in worst case."
The deprogramming work after I was transferred to Ogikubo was done under the instruction of Miyamura. I will explain it as follows. A book titled "What parents must know," was published by Inochi No Kotaba Sha (= Word of Life Press Ministries) on Apr. 1, 1997. On the following year (1998), I started to receive Miyamura’s deprogramming under confinement at Flower Home #804. Miyamura contributed an article in the book.
Here is what Miyamura says in the book.
You have to know that your children are not the same children of old days though it's hard to admit it if you are parents. The mind control which a destructive cult use is different from brain washing, and it's an advanced and sophisticated method.
More importantly, it's very dangerous for you to judge how much your children are affected by the mind control. I'll mention this matter later, but you need to rely on counselors who have abundant experiences. As a minimum standard, you better think that you can't handle the case if you feel "something different" in your children.
If you receive counseling from a reliable counselor at the first place, the issue would not escalate. You may think lightly, for example "He would understand what we say." "He'll quit if I talk." "She will awake soon." "My children wouldn't do such things." But these attitudes may make the situation more serious. If you think "It's still OK." in the common sense, it's "too late".
You take your children to a doctor when your children become sick or injured even though they are not so serious. Are you trying to solve the problems all by yourselves while something awful is occurring in your children's mind?
Your first action to do is to look for your "rescue counselor" who you are going ask to rescue your children. You need to see many counselors as many as possible, gather information and continue to research. If you find a reliable counselor, you have to trust the person without worrying. Your case will be solved if you prepare and act patiently without any hassles, without giving up.
According to Miyamura, Unification Church members are "mind-controlled", and it is "very dangerous" for family and relatives to judge the members' situation and it's the stage which is "more than the family members can do". In order to solve it (to make children leave church), you have to find a "reliable counselor" and trust the counselor. That’s the only way.
A "Reliable Counselor" means Miyamura himself. My family asked Pastor Matsunaga in Niigata to convert me for the second abduction and confinement, though it is clear that Miyamura was involved as my brother and one of the *Tap's employees were part of the abduction team. Pastor Matsunaga failed to convert me over the 2-year confinement. Then my family asked Miyamura himself to deprogram me after my father's death.
(*Tap is the company Miymura owned.)
-- To be continued to Second Half --
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