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~They sleep 6 to a room, in cramped and dingy quarters in one of the richest nations of the world. The women leave their young children with whomever is available, and they hit the streets in large numbers to begin a long hard day's work for their messiah. They are armed with vases and trinkets they claim hold spiritual powers and will bestow good fortune upon those that purchase them. Door to door they go as quickly as possible. Sometimes the "pitch" has been threatening, as the seller speaks in deliberate and measured tones, telling the person that bad spirits of their Japanese Samurai ancestors are bringing misfortune to their family and to be free they must purchase the item the seller has. Many are convinced and they do purchase. They purchase items that have been marked up as much as 10 times. In extreme cases, vases costing only $21.00 dollars to produce, have been sold for $8300.00 to bring the purchaser good fortune or free them from evil spirits. Thousands of these sellers go about their mission. They are like a small army. They are Sun Myung Moon's "ants".

~You would think that Moon would have a litle more respect than to call his best money-makers "ants", but that is all part of the control game. Moon is shrewd, and it is imperative that he keep these members in military style regimentation. After all, this is one of the main sources of fuel of Sun Myung Moon's world-wide empire. Much was learned about the Japanese branch of Moon's money tree in 1984, when several high ranking church officials in Japan, left the movement and provided details of the Japanese UC operations to the Washington Post, for an article they published on the organization. It was learned that the Japanese church members regularly raised $4000.00 per month each. That over 100 million dollars per year was raised by their efforts, and over 90% percent of the revenue ultimately was sent out of Japan and used for Moon's various projects. According to the former officials, the Japanese church members had a quota of 2.5 million dollars per month to be sent into the United States and earmarked for the Washington Times Newspaper. The paper, is a power building, but money losing enterprise that has cost the Reverend nearly 1 billion dollars to keep alive since it's inception, by Moon's own estimates. Much of the sales in Japan are achieved according to the former officials by sometimes high-pressure sales tactics designed to capitalize upon Japanese religious superstitions. In some examples, UC members have apparently targeted widows, telling them that their dead husbands were suffering in hell, and that purchasing certain items or making donations to the Unification Church in Japan was the way to free their husband's from hell.

~These types of high pressure sales, while extremely successful, have now brought heavy burdens to Moon's church there. The Unification Church was recently the target of the largest consumer fraud investigation in the history of Japan. Over 300 citizens joined a class action suit against the church, which has been settling them out of court, with figures reaching $150 million dollars. This has put a strain on Moon's finances, as has the economic ills of Asia the last several years, which forced 5 of Moon's companies in Korea into receivership and has put them over 1 Billion dollars in debt. While other Moon projects have been closed or downsized, the Washington Times remains a top priority in America, and the money continues to pour in from somewhere. Recently, a Robert Parry article revealed that several reporters from Argentine Newspapers, have questioned top officials of the Unification Church in South America, about allegations that the church engaged in drug trafficking and gun running. These allegations were of course, denied by the UC representative, but questions persist.

~Certainly, in spite of the problems faced in Japan, the Japanese Unification Church appears to remain a major force in Moonie fundraising. Several years ago, a reporter from a television station in Japan told me that there were reports that the Unification Church members in Japan were being asked to max-out their credit cards and even sell their houses, turning in the funds to the church as donations. Some of this can be confirmed by Moon himself, as the following quote shows:

~While Moon is encouraging his members to sell their houses and assets for the sake of the Unification Church, Moon himself is getting a brand new palace with marble floors on a huge waterfront property in Korea, as well as several new luxury cars and a fully customized Jet plane from Japan, only a few of the "gifts" Moon will receive for his 80th birthday.

~Happy, is not the world of Moon's Japanese followers that sacrifice everything they have for what they believe is "God's Will", but Happy World, is the title of the major company that sales of the pagodas and other items are achieved through. According to a Washington Post article, Happy World is controlled by Moon's church. A former high ranking official claimed that the Tokyo based operation that sells the products imported by Happy World, had sent over $800 million dollars from Japan to be used in Moon's worldwide projects. That was in 1984. How much has it been now? Moon claims 2 Billion dollars.

And what has the money gone to support?

~This was a 1984 article, and I assure you that it represents only a small sampling of what Moon is up to now. Recently, as Moon has made strides to see his church go more mainstream, he is also doing the same with his businesses, and making more partnerships with major corporations. His New Yorker Hotel for example will now come under the Ramada flag, and there was news just this year, in January of 2000, that Fiat was involved in a partnership planned for North Korea, where one of Moon's companies, Pyonghwa Motors would help produce 10,000 Fiats for export each year. Pyonghwa Motors has invested $10 million so far, and plans to invest a projected $300 million dollars into the project. So, the money continues to flow, but how did it all begin?

PART-3 Moon Money - A Brief History

MOON'S WEALTH & POWER - SECTION Moon, The Millionaire Who Is In Moon's Pocket? Infiltrating Christian Churches Moon & Conservative Politics Dancing With The Underworld

 

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