Mass Media and Religion in Japan: Mediating the Leader’s ImageErica Baffelli
Hosei University, Tokyo
Keywords:
New Japanese Religions, Media Strategy, Leader, Advertising,Ritual, Criticism.
Abstract
The development of the new Japanese religions (the so-called shinshukyō ), right since their first appearance at the end of the 19th century, has always been wholly tied to the development of the means of mass communication. Numerous studies have investigated Japanese new religious movements, but there has been little study of the role played by the media in their development. This article presents an analysis of the relationship between new religion and media through theexample of a group called Kōfuku no kagaku, founded in 1986 and particularly noted for having related its success to its communication strategies. The analysis will focus especially on the two-year period 1991-1992 when the sacralization
of the body of the leader – brought about through a massive publicity campaign in 1991 – is then contrasted with the attempt at de-legitimisation carried out by the press in the same period (the so-called Kōdansha affair). The relationship with the media is revealed, therefore, in its double role as an instrument of legitimisation of theauthority of the leader and the danger for his ‘aura’
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