TOKYO, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- The speaker of Japan's lower house of parliament on Friday admitted he had attended more events connected to the controversial Unification Church than he had previously acknowledged.
Hiroyuki Hosoda told parliamentary representatives in a meeting on the issue that as well as four gatherings he previously admitted to attending between 2018 and 2019 hosted by the religious organization, he attended four more events and sent three messages.
The chairman of the Committee on Rules and Administration of the lower house informed reporters of the latest admission by Hosoda who was already under fire from opposition parties over his affiliation to the group, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), among other opposition parties, have lambasted Hosoda's initial admission of links to the organization, often referred to as a cult.
On Friday, a CDPJ lawmaker said that doubts remained about Hosoda's statement and admissions, with particular regard to the dubious church supporting Hosoda in election campaigns when Hosoda headed a ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) faction.
Hosoda has denied such electoral support was provided by the religious group.
Calls from the opposition camp for Hosoda to step down or be fired over the matter have intensified following an internal probe by the LDP last month revealing about half of the LDP's lawmakers had ties with the controversial organization, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.
Pressure has been mounting on the wider ruling LDP headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, amid slumping public support, to explain its connections to the organization.
The religious group has been known for coercing massive amounts of money in "spiritual sales" from its followers in return for "spiritual" or "karmic" benefits. ■