In response to nuns claiming years of sexual abuse by their priest, the Tendai began a field survey of temples in Shikoku region on the afternoon of May 7.
In March this year, a nun, Eicho (in her 50’s), held a press conference in Otsu City, Shiga and claimed that the temples’s chief priest (in his 60’s) had threatened her for about 14 years, saying “If you oppose me, you’ll go to hell” and that she had been sexually assaulted on a daily basis.
She has been introduced to the priest by a relative, a high priest in his 80’s, and asked Tendai to withdraw the two because she says they used her religious beliefs and brainwashed her.
Tendai officials are believed to be conducting interviews with those involved in the April 7 investigation. The Tendai Religious Office has already conducted interviews with the priest and Eicho, but have yet to decide whether to publish the results of the investigation at this time.
