International Coalition for Religious Freedom Update for November 11, 2011

New Press Release. ICRF issued several press releases this month through “i-Newswire.” The most recent one features our victims’ association (SAFE) president Luke Higuchi and can be seen on our home page at www.religiousfreedom.com. It gives updates on recent abduction cases.

In that regard, we have some sad news to share. Ms. “N.Y.” who has been missing since July 11, 2011, has sent a letter to her church leader to announce that she renounced her faith. The letter was written on October 14, and was sent by registered mail on October 20. Our Japanese colleagues believe the letter is sincere, rather than a pretense to get her captors to reduce security precautions. On the bright side, she expressed her gratitude to church members rather than resentments. She wrote that her life in the UC was happy but she cannot come back to the church. The letter shows the painful choices that many victims are forced to make. Let’s all keep Ms. “N.Y.” in our prayers as we work harder than ever to prevent future incidents of kidnapping and forced de-conversion. Also, Mr. “K.M.” remains missing and has not been seen since October 5. His fiancée, who lives in Hungary, is trying to get help from the Japanese Embassy there.

CARP at NJIT. Plans for the event sponsored by the CARP chapter at the New Jersey Institute of Technology are now firmly set for November 18. The event is officially titled “Japan’s Hidden Shame.” Ichiko Sudo and Luke Higuchi and myself have been invited to speak at the program. Several Japanese and American survivors are also expected to participate. Other CARP chapters are now considering following NJIT’s example to host events on our issue.

Fact-Finding Tour: We have made important progress in arranging a fact-finding tour of American leaders to Japan. Jim Gavin, Mike Jenkins and Dan Fefferman have all visited Congressional offices recently for this purpose. They have been joined by Mrs. Kathryn Porter of the Leadership Council for Human Rights (www.leadership-council.org), who has made key introductions for us, based on her longstanding reputation as a human rights campaigner. Several Congressmen have expressed strong interest in participating.

Two Books Worth Reading. Two recent books on religious freedom that you may be interested in reading: 1) Silenced: How Apostasy and Blasphemy Codes Are Choking Freedom Worldwide by Paul Marshall and Nina Shea. This book examines the relationship between protecting freedom of speech and preventing offensive statements about another’s religion. 2) Prisoner of Conscience: One Man’s Crusade for Global Human and Religious Rights. This book explains Congressman Frank Wolf’s passion for religious freedom and his work on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Congress. Mrs. Porter, mentioned above, was instrumental in establishing the Commission, with the help of her former husband, then-Congressman John Porter of Illinois.

In Jin Nim’s Nov 6th Sermon. Our issue got a nationwide “boost” from In Jin Nim’s sermon given on November 6, which was broadcast from the University of Bridgeport. According to my notes, (not an official transcript) IJN said: “Mr. Goto came to the U.S. to ask our American brothers and sisters to help… Our members in Japan have suffered unspeakable atrocities. Many of our brothers and sisters have been abused, even raped… Even this

year they are being continually abducted and abused. Do we want to grow up in a world where our human rights are violated? …If we really want to fight the faith-breaking issue we have to work together.”

New Documentary in Korea. Ichiko Sudo and Luke Higuchi recently met with the VP of a Korean cable channel who wants to create a documentary about what is happening in the West about our issue. He is planning to focus the documentary on Luke’s work with SAFE. In association with this, Luke may do a speaking tour in Korea, explaining the attention the Japanese issue is getting in the West.

Radio Show. Ichiko completed editing her first radio show and is in the process of creating a blog site where it will be available. In the immediate future, Ichiko plans to interview Ray Mas about what is going on in the “religious freedom world” each week. In relation to that, Dan and Ray are planning a weekly syndicated column, tentatively called “Religious Freedom Week.” We are researching ways to distribute it for maximum impact.

Federalist Society and Family Research Council. Dan Fefferman and Prof. Mike Mickler of UTS attended the meeting of the Federalist Society on November 4 on Capitol Hill. The meeting featured the recently released book by Nina Shea and Paul Marshall mentioned above. We made new contacts and touched base with several allies. Jim Gavin joined the meeting for a brief time, and Dan and Jim used the opportunity to visit two Congressional offices nearby. We met directly with one Congressman, who expressed a positive commitment to come to Japan to research our issue very soon. The previous week Dan and Jim attended a meeting sponsored by the Family Research Council (a leading conservative organization) on the topic of International Religious Freedom as a key American value related to our national security interests. Among the speakers were Tom Farr (formerly the director of the State Department’s Religious Freedom Office) and Tina Ramirez of the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty.

SUPPORT ICRF THROUGH ONLINE SHOPPING AT AMAZON Go to our website and click the Amazon icon on our homepage to start shopping now!!

CONTACT: 7245-A Hanover Parkway, Greenbelt, MD 20770 Email: icrfusa@gmail.com Website: www.religiousfreedom.com