Letter to Japanese Ambassadors

Dear (Ambassador’s Name)

I would like to extend my sincere sympathies towards Japan and its people for the suffering imposed on it by the recent earthquake and the subsequent damage it caused. I pray for the safety and recovery of all the affected areas and the victims of this terrible tragedy.

Although there are many generous souls who are giving their time, resources, and hard work to help those in need, I have noticed with some dismay that there are also a scant few who view this time of sorrow as an opportunity to take advantage of those in their weakest moment. It grieves me to bring this to your attention at such a time, but I wish to inform you and lodge a protest against an organization in Japan that is doing just this.

The organization, going by the name of “Volunteer Ministers”[1] (alternatively working under other names, such as “Dianetics” and “The Way To Happiness”) has sent rescue teams to disaster areas to supposedly assist the victims[2]. The truth is that these people, and all the groups under which they operate, are part of a larger organization called the Church of Scientology, a new religious movement based in the United States[3]. Although any assistance in this time of need is commendable, the Church of Scientology has a long history of interfering with and actually hindering the work of real relief workers. They caused numerous difficulties to relief workers in New York in the wake of the September 11th terror attacks and again in London after the bomb attacks there[4], and were also involved in controversy during their so-called assistance in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti[5].

Beyond their work in disaster zones, the Church of Scientology has an extremely checkered past in a number of countries. It is considered dangerous and anti-constitutional by the German government[6], has been convicted of fraud in France[7], and has been the subject of an inquiry by the Australian government[8].

However, while all of this information is reason enough to worry about such an organization operating in Japan, the final straw that pushed me to send you this email was a claim made by one of Scientology’s sub-groups, claiming to offer “therapy” to “purify the body of radiation”.[9]. The therapy itself, the “Purification Rundown” or “Purification Program”, has already existed for years. A sizable body of objective criticism to its effects and the dangers of practicing it already exists [10]. Among its more questionable aspects is the requirement to ingest a vitamin cocktail called "Dianazene", which contains dangerously large quantities of Niacin and other vitamins[11], and several hours spent in a sauna, which can cause severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance[12]. The dangerous nature of this treatment pushed the US Government to confiscate and destroy thousands of Dianazene tablets due to their falsely being labeled as a radiation treatment[13].

Given the questionable motives of Scientology and its Volunteer Ministers, and the consistent scientific refutation of the Purification Rundown's claims, I feel concerned that this organization is allowed to operate in disaster zones in Japan. They are preying on the fears and anxieties of a nation already overburdened with grief and suffering, offering an ineffective and dangerous cure to people who may not know any better.

I implore you to communicate this information to the relevant authorities in the Japanese government, in the hopes that this group can be investigated before people in Japan are made to suffer any more than they already have.

Thank you for your time and attention.
Sincerely,
(your name)


Sources:

[1]www.volunteerministers.org/

[2]http://blog.volunteerministers.org/blog/photos-scientology-volunteer-ministers-japan.html

[3]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology

[4]http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/networks/fivelive/aod.shtml?fivelive/flreport_scientologynew

[5]http://gawker.com/#!5462117/scientologists-in-haiti-a-firsthand-account

[6]http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1695514,00.html

[7]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8327569.stm

[8]http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/7260280/calls-for-judicial-inquiry-into-scientology/

[9]http://ameblo.jp/purif/entry-10834049100.html

[10a]http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/sources/reports/hogg.htm

[10b]http://www.nypress.com/article-16488-the-rundown-on-scientologys-purification-rundown.html

[10c]http://www.holysmoke.org/sdhok/purif.htm

[11]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianazene

[12]http://www.dietsinreview.com/diets/purification-rundown/

[13a]Atack, Jon (1990). A Piece of Blue Sky. New York, NY: Carol Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8184-0499-X.

[13b]Wallis, Roy. Sectarianism: Analyses of Religious and Non-Religious Sects, Page 92, 1975, ISBN 0470919108

[13c]Miller, Russell (1987). Bare-faced Messiah, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard (First American Edition ed.). New York: Henry Holt & Co. pp. 227–228. ISBN 0-8050-0654-0.