Japan: Tokyo Formally Recognises the Japanese Falun Dafa Association as a Non-Profit Organisation

According to reports from several media outlets in Japan, including Kyodo News, Yomiuri Shimbun and Mainichi Newspaper, Falun Gong, which is regarded as an illegal group and suppressed in China, has now being officially and formally recognised by Tokyo as of the 27th of August, 2004, as a "Non-Profit Organisation" and registered under the title "Falun Dafa Association of Japan."

The Tokyo Bureau of Citizens and Cultural Affairs indicated that the Falun Dafa Association of Japan, headquartered in Tokyo, had submitted their application twice between 1999 and 2001 for registering as a "Non-Profit Organisation." The Tokyo government at that time did not approve the application due to many concerns, such as they could not prove that Falun Gong is not a religious group. Those reports also said that each time those who practise Falun Gong submitted the application, people from the Chinese Embassy in Japan would pressure Tokyo and ask them not to approve the Falun Dafa Association registration application.

In May of 2004, the Falun Dafa Association in Japan filed this application a third time. The Falun Dafa Association specifically declares that the mission of the association is to "popularise qigong¹, to improve health of body and mind and to cultivate noble and moral values. The association will never get involved in any political assembly or religious activities." Tokyo's government indicated that, "judging from the application profile, the association does not have any political context and preferences, nor does the association have any religious context and inclination; therefore, the application meets the necessary legal conditions."

Notes:

1. Qigong - Traditional Chinese exercises for developing "qi" or "vital energy".