Warning about solicitations by cult groups

Updated on 2025.8.25

As a university student, you may often be invited to volunteer, participate in club activities, study groups, or parties on campus or in town.
Many of these solicitations are made by violent, anti-social, or so-called "cult" groups, and there have been many cases across the country where students have suffered mental, financial, and physical harm.
Even if the first few times they are simply involved in volunteer work or club activities, there are known cases where they are then invited to seminars or training camps where they are brainwashed or forced to join, or are forced to cut ties with family and friends, or are asked to make large donations or sign contracts, among other financial demands.
The most common method of solicitation is when someone approaches you while you are alone on campus or in town, using the following pretexts, so never give out personal information such as your name, address, mobile phone number, or email address, and make sure to clearly decline by saying something like "No thanks" or "I'm not interested."

[Solicitation methods]
・Volunteer activities such as picking up trash
・Study groups and research meetings on themes such as SDGs
・Gospel and choral concerts
・Intercollegiate sports clubs (futsal, volleyball, etc.)
・Cooking classes and dinner parties
・Recruitment of models and monitors
・Request for cooperation in a survey
・Health consultations such as yoga and health foods
・Self-development seminars such as thinking about how to live your life

If you are subject to persistent solicitation or other such abuse, please contact your university office immediately and do not hesitate to contact the police.