Temple friendly to Chongryon wins bid to buy HQ


A Buddhist temple in Kagoshima Prefecture won the tender Tuesday to acquire the Tokyo headquarters of the pro-North Korean group Chongryon, the Tokyo District Court said.

The result should enable the group, formally known as the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, to continue using the premises because Saifuku Temple in Kagoshima has connections with North Korea.

The facility in Chiyoda Ward has served as a de facto diplomatic mission for North Korea, which has no official ties with Japan.

The auction has been closely watched because Chongryon could be forced to vacate the premises if the new owner were to refuse to allow it to remain as a tenant.





  • yankdownunder


    In 1961 he was arrested for attempting a coup d’etat on the Japanese government.

    Since becoming abbot of Saifukuji he installed a shrine to North Korean leader Kim Il-sung.

    This bid should be rejected.

  • yankdownunder

    The court had estimated the value of the property at about 28 million dollars.

    The temple bid more than 47 million dollars.
    They wanted to be certain that Chingryon kept the land and building. What secrets are buried there?