TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Japanese court on Tuesday ordered that the Unification Church, which has been criticized for soliciting financially ruinous donations from its members, be dissolved, following a request from the central government.

The order by the Tokyo District Court will deprive the controversial organization of its status as a religious corporation with tax advantages, although it will still be allowed to operate in Japan.

The church is the first religious organization in Japan to be given a dissolution order over civil law violations, and the third to be slapped with such an order for legal violations.

The court said it was unable to overlook the significant damage wrought by the church and that there was no alternative to a dissolution order, calling it an "inevitable legal action."

The organization was unlikely to improve its behavior as it had continued its practices despite announcing in 2009 that it would ensure compliance with the law. It had swindled at least 20.4 billion yen ($135.4 million) in donations from more than 1,500 people, according to the court.

The church said in an online statement that it would immediately appeal to the Tokyo High Court, adding that the order "will create future trouble for all religious bodies."

The request was filed in October 2023 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology following a monthslong probe into the group.

"We believe our claims were accepted," said culture minister Toshiko Abe.

"We will take a whole-of-government approach in ensuring all necessary and stringent responses (to the issue) based on the country's law while extending full support to victims," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Under Japan's legal system, authorities can ask courts to order a dissolution if a religious corporation "commits an act which is clearly found to harm public welfare substantially."

The case hinged on whether civil law violations, which the culture ministry argued the church had committed, were grounds for the dissolution under the Religious Corporations Act.

In a separate case involving the group, the Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that civil law violations were applicable when deciding on a request to dissolve a religious organization.

The ministry said the organization's tactics, which also included pressuring people into buying religious goods, began at least from around 1980 and sought to exploit followers through fear.

The Unification Church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, categorically denied the allegations.

The church has come under heavy scrutiny since the fatal shooting in 2022 of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by a man who allegedly admitted to holding a grudge against the group due to financially ruinous donations made by his mother.

The incident was followed by a series of revelations of ties between some lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Unification Church.

One of the two other religious organizations issued a court-ordered dissolution due to legal violations was the AUM Shinrikyo cult, which carried out the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and other serious crimes.

The other was the Myokakuji temple group, whose priests defrauded people by telling them they were possessed by evil spirits before charging them for exorcisms.