Abstract: On July 8, 2022, Shinzo Abe, the longestserving prime minister in Japans constitutional history, was assassinated. The assailant was a middleaged who had been victimized by the emerging religious group known as the Unification Church. Abe became the first prime minister to be assassinated due to religious motivations since the Meiji Restoration. Despite Japan‘s current constitution clearly mandating the separation of religion and politics, postassassination revelations exposed various illicit dealings between influential members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), including Abe, and the Unification Church. Since its inception, the LDP has made constitutional amendment its longstanding political objective. In pursuit of this goal, conservative factions within the LDP colluded with religious groups seeking political protection, engaging in covert transactions. These actions not only contravened the constitutional principle of separation but also inflicted psychological and financial losses on numerous families. This paper seeks to dissect the assassination of Shinzo Abe and uncover the truth regarding the LDP’s unconstitutional practices perpetrated by conservative forces.

Key words: Unification Church, Shinzo Abe, safeguarding the national polity, emerging religion, constitutional amendment