Komaba Group in the USA, Canada, and Nigeria
HWDYKYM has scantily posted on the Komaba group in the past, but there seems to be updates on this growing movement, which seems to include active FFWPU members.
▲ Seung-cheol Lee (李勝哲, イ スンチョル) and Kumiko Komaba (駒場久美子)
Background on the Komaba group:
The Komaba group, also known as the Substantial Word group, is led by Kumiko Komaba and her husband, Seung-cheol Lee, a couple from the 30,000-couple Blessing. Their approach typically involves presenting themselves as ordinary UC members while claiming that key passages of Father’s words were mistranslated into Japanese, using this as an entry point to introduce doubts about established doctrine to other members. They are reported to borrow or reinterpret significant texts such as the “Proclamation of the Substantial Word."
The Komaba group was formally denounced by the FFWPU Japan in 2013 and in 2019. Today's World Japan ran 8 articles debunking the theological claims of the Komaba group in 2014, and released two videos in English in 2023 (here and here).
The FFWPU has taken issue with the Komaba group's claims that there is a need for revelation through the Holy Spirit beyond Moon’s words in the Eight Great Textbooks, Komaba's distinct interpretation of the Divine Principle's concept of "95/5" responsibility, which the group claims can be more dynamically shared between subject and object partners, and other doctrines that the Family Fed claims are either heretical, undermine Moon's words or the Divine Principle, or challenge Hak Ja Han's authority as the "True Mother."
UC historian Michael Mickler, who is publicly aligned with the FFWPU, wrote in The Unification Church Movement (published by Cambridge University Press):
Like the Nakayama group, it puts special emphasis on the feminine, specifically Japanese women, who are understood to be vehicles of the Holy Spirit. However, to date, the group lacks the flamboyant qualities of Nakayama and is relatively secretive, limiting outreach to one-on-one witnessing, almost exclusively to FFWPU members. As its name suggests, it focuses on doctrine. In 2018, it published a 411-page volume, Foundation Day and Seonghwa: The Kingdom of God Father Left Behind, which details the ways the FFWPU misinterpreted and misapplied Moon’s core teachings. Substantial Word has followers in Japan, Brazil, Canada, and the United States and a presence in up to twenty-five other countries. In 2019, FFWPU Japan issued a warning about the “Komaba Group,” stating that its adherents “pretend to be church members” and “plant doubts in people’s faith.”
In additional to Japan, Brazil, Canada, and the U.S., the Komaba group allegedly has a significant following among Mongolian and Ecuadorian members.
There are rumors that there are a number of higher-ups in the FFWPU Japan that are secret members, some accusing Hiroyu Horii and Nobuo Okamura, though this remains unconfirmed. Some have alleged that ex-continental director Shin Dong-Mo is a secret member, but his continued loyalty to Hak Ja Han makes this unlikely.
The Family Fed also objects to practices seen as abusive, such as the requirement to have a "seunghwa" while alive, which the Family Fed claims is how the Komaba group extorts members to give up all their assets. According to ex-members, leaders forced members to make calls to friends, family, and even loan sharks, to pay for this ceremony.
▲ Article on the Komaba group in a 'Today's World Japan' issue from 2014
In 2019, Richard Panzer of the Sanctuary Church met with members of the Komaba group to civilly discuss theology, which he has written about. According to Panzer, the Komaba group did recognize Hyung Jin as Sun Myung Moon's heir and successor and reject FFWPU's "Only Begotten Daughter" theology, but he maintained that there remained a number of important theological differences betwen Sanctuary and the Substantial Word group, emphasizing that the Komaba group's belief that True Love cannot have anything to do with power, wealth, or military force, which he sees as contradicting Moon's words regarding guns and weapons.
The Komaba group has been growing in North America, with many of its members on the outskirts of the FFWPU, if not actively participating in FFWPU activities.
Since December 2017, the Komaba group was registered as legal entity in the U.S., based in the NJ-NY area, going by the name "God and Human Being United in Love and Union of the Spiritual and Physical Worlds" or USPW. In their own words:
Multiple workshops and events were conducted in new jersey and new york locations for both adults and youth. Lecture and discussion content included god-centered family values, life of faith and home church. Annual youth camp for over 20 participants was conducted in lake tobyhanna, pa. Fundraising and donation to nigerian non profit Spiritual and Physical ministry aka uspw-nigeria for the purpose of drilling bore holes, providing much needed drinking water for villages. Member visitation by home church elders: listening to concerns, provide faith education and support development of home church in members local area. Also, educational materials given out. Several families were visited and received education and Love from the elders. Other youth workshops and activities including summer youth camping holy days and religious publications for religious education translation service for non-english members attending workshops
In 2024, their total assets, according to Form 990 tax filings, was $913k. Their assets include $222,259 in "savings, short-term investments, etc.," $21,731 for "prepaid expenses and deferred changes," and $669,556 for "buildings, equipment, etc. post-depreciation."
Their expenses in 2024 include $28,800 for "occupancy," $24,802 for "interest," $17,031 for "depreciation, amortization, etc.", $4,000 for grants outside USA, as well as $34,570 for "other free-for-service" and $85,909 for "all other expenses."
According to their filings, they are based in Elizabeth, NJ (331 Rosehill Pl. Elizabeth, NJ 07202) and their website is uspw-usa.org/. Their listed phone number is the personal cell number of Yung Chia, a Singaporean who joined the UC at Camp K and once worked at True World Marine in Little Ferry, NJ. Though Yung Chia registered this organization at the end of 2017, him and his wife Eriko donated at least $2,500 to IPEC in Las Vegas that same year. You can watch Yung's testimony regarding studying the Substantial Word and the Komaba group's "Three Day Ceremony" here.
The US branch's "board" includes Yung Chia, Yong Lim, Junko Shiraishi, Yoshitaka Koga, Hitomi Suzuki, as well as Seung Cheol Lee and Kumiko Komaba. This board includes 2nd generation, as well as those who have been involved in the FFWPU to some degree since USPW was registered in 2017.
This information can be found here and here.
In 2019, this organization has also registered in Canada as God and Human Being United in Love and Union of the Spiritual and Physical Worlds Association Canada (Aletheia Naos) or Dieu Et L’Être Humain Unit En Amour, Et L’association De L’union Des Mondes Spirituel Et Physique Du Canada (Aletheia Naos).
Their board consists of Gaétan Dutil's family members, including his wife Midori Takeyasu-Dutil and his second generation son Trinton, as well as Komaba and Lee, who live in Tokyo. The Dutil family for many years had a close relationship to In Jin Moon and her family.
Though this group is largely secretive, a number of their followers have shared testimonies online.
According to this Reddit thread, USPW members have been fundraising in the U.S., including a member from Japan. One user wrote, "I've had 2 guys (both asian if it matters) in the last few weeks stop by my shop with 2 different fundraising stories. The first guy saying he was raising money to go to nursing school and the 2nd one today showed me a laminate and a flyer from uspw. Both of them offered me a holographic cartoon poster of anime or Spiderman those types of things in return for a donation of even 1 dollar. What's that all about? Has anyone seen this?"
The Komaba group in Nigeria seem to be active and potentially even leading the Family Fed
This picture above is taken from Happiness Initiative's wellspring project in Nigeria. Happiness Initiative is a non-profit based in Las Vegas, which claims both South and North America Sustainable Development for World Peace, which oversees the Leda settlement in Paraguay, and another non-profit, the Universal Educational Foundation, as partners. Naomi Harasaki, Kimiyo Anceney, Evan Louie, and Duy Nguyen are all on their board. It is rumored that Naomi Harasaki is a Komaba follower, yet all of these organizations are seemingly aligned with the Family Fed. That said, the banner says, "USPW-USA Thank You!" and the USPW-USA website features "Wellsprings in Nigeria" as one of their current projects, making mention of Happiness Initiative. USPW-USA's filings mention "fundraising and donation to nigerian non profit Spiritual and Physical ministry aka uspw-nigeria for the purpose of drilling bore holes, providing much needed drinking water for villages."
Interestingly enough, the Happiness Initiative has a post (with no information) about the "law of 95:5," referring to the Divine Principle concept of God performing 95% of the work necessary for human growth, restoration, and the fulfillment of God's ideal, and humans contribute the remaining 5%. As mentioned earlier, the Komaba group has a distinct interpretation of this that is condemned by the Family Fed. This may simply be a form of DP education being done by this church non-profit, but considering its connections to the Komaba group, it very could be outreach for their own sect.
▲ Letter of gratitude from Dr. Raphael Ogar Oko of USPWA Nigeria
Featured on the USPW-USA website is a letter of gratitude from Dr. Raphael Ogar Oko, who claimed to represent USPWA. Interestingly, like the Happiness Initiative, Oko seems to be aligned with the Family Federation, having led UPF efforts in Nigeria for over a decade, even representing UPF Nigeria on a 2024 visit to the UK.
That said, Oko has a "non-aligned" streak. In 2010, Oko called out FFWPU leadership for actively sabotaging the efforts of Hyun Jin's GPF camp and forcing UC leaders members to uphold the "Resolution and Oath of the Global Membership on the Occasion of True Parents’ Declaration." Despite his strong words against the divisive FFWPU leadership, by at least 2013, he was leading UPF in Nigeria.
By the looks of it, including his own admission, it seems that this UPF leader is in fact loyal to the Komaba group, and there is a strong chance that the FFWPU-aligned Happiness Initiative is connected to it as well.
Feel free to email us at [email protected] with any insight on this growing sect.
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