2K views14 pages
Daisaku Ikeda Sex Cases
Uploaded byaldilno
Date uploaded
on May 13, 2011
Sex case haunts Japan religious leader
Asia Times/June 25, 1996
By Bradley Martin
The leader of eight million Japanese families which adhere to the Soka Gakkai offshoot ofBuddhism likes to be called the most powerful man in the country.Not so welcome to Daisaku Ikeda and his followers are recurrent charges that power hascorrupted him, as he has bent the doctrines of the faith to craft a personality cult in which hiswish is the command of followers - whether at the ballot box or in the boudoir.Ikeda has done more than anyone in the post-war era to inject religion into the country's politics.His organization's get-out-the-vote clout strikes fear into the hearts of opponents - to the extenthe has become the chief bogeyman of the Liberal Democratic Party and its partners in the rulingcoalition.But the tough-talking, 68-year-old pacifist, a big power behind the scenes in the opposition NewFrontier Party or Shinshin-to, can handle the slings and arrows from fellow politicians. Theattacks that really sting - and get the Soka Gakkai public relations apparatus humming - areaccusations of sexual peccadilloes, perhaps because they appear threatening to what is widelyseen as a more or less open campaign to win him a Nobel Peace Prize.The latest such charge comes from a former high-ranking follower, Nobuko Nobuhira, who hasfiled a civil lawsuit claiming that the "eternal master", as some followers have called him, rapedher brutally not once but three times - in 1973, 1983 and 1991 - while she worked as an unpaidSoka Gakkai local chief in Hakodate, Hokkaido.Ikeda was unavailable for comment but Soka Gakkai spokespersons vigorously denied the chargeand noted that Nobuhira, in the 23 years since the first alleged rape, had never brought acriminal charge. Her civil suit, they argued, was a media stunt by a disaffected ex-member whohad been kicked out, a ploy to avoid a quick resolution of the case and thus prolong the feedingof scandalous anti-Ikeda tidbits to the tabloid press."Without police investigation, the complainant can say anything she wants to in court, includingfabricated 'testimony' and 'evidence'," said a Soka Gakkai spokesman.The 69-year-old housewife at a press conference on Monday acknowledged that a major purposeof her suit was to let the public know "what kind of a human being Mr Ikeda really is". Her lawyerexplained that they had filed a civil suit in order to retain control of the case - a criminal casewould be handled by public prosecutors - and to avoid the humiliation of Nobuhira being grilledand put through graphic crime-scene re-enactments by the police.Mrs Nobuhira's accounts of the alleged rapes in the legal complaint and at the press conferencewere fairly graphic themselves. She told how Ikeda had visited Hakodate in June 1973 and shehad been in charge of all preparations for his visit. She was bending over making up his beddingon the straw-mat floor when Ikeda attacked her from behind, knocked her face-down on to thebedding and raped her, she said. Soon after that, she said, he started referring to her when hesaw her as "Nigo-san" (my mistress).A little over 10 years later, on the same premises, he raped her again. Another eight yearspassed before the third alleged attack - again at the Hakodate training center.Mrs Nobuhira was asked why, after the first and second alleged rapes, she stayed on, not only asa member of Soka Gakkai but in a position that would involve her deeply in providing hospitalityto Ikeda during his visits.She replied that she had built the local organization and she was a strong believer in theNichiren-sect Buddhist teachings that the lay group Sokka Gakkai espoused. It would have lookedstrange if she had stepped down, and she feared she would end up shamed by having to tell herhusband and others what Ikeda had done to her. By the time of the third alleged rape, she said,she mistakenly assumed she was out of danger on account of her age.
Soka Gakkai and Ikeda often have found themselves in public disputes. Ikeda sued the formereditor of a monthly magazine for libel after the magazine in 1976 printed articles about intimateaffairs he had allegedly had with female Soka Gakkai members. The editor drew a 10-monthprison sentence before the Supreme Court ordered a retrial.There are other issues as well. Some former members of the group have complained ofcampaigns of intimidation to keep members from leaving. A group of those dissidents alliedseveral years ago with priests of the Nichiren sect who excommunicated the entire membershipof Soka Gakkai.Soka Gakkai spokespersons described the Nichiren priests as a sybaritic lot who inherited theirtemples from their fathers and grandfathers, drove sports cars, dined with geisha and insistedthat priestly intervention - at a price - was necessary for spiritual salvation. Soka Gakkai arguesthat laypersons can find their own salvation through home repetition of a chant expressing beliefin the Lotus Sutra.In a more recent case, Soka Gakkai filed another criminal libel complaint against the editor of theweekly Gendai magazine and the husband and daughter of a local councilwoman who was founddead beneath an apartment building under suspicious circumstances. The complaint noted thatthe magazine's article suggested that Soka Gakkai had been involved in the death, which theauthorities ruled a suicide. The councilwoman was an anti-Soka Gakkai campaigner.Subsequently, reports appeared - not denied by Soka Gakkai - saying that the prosecutor whohad decided not to investigate possible homicide in the case was a graduate of the religiousgroup's Soka University.Political opponents of the group have sought to use such incidents to press for new legislation totighten separation between state and religion, a campaign that gathered steam after an upperhouse parliamentary election last year in which the group's support was decisive in victories byShinshin-to candidates.LDP leaders like secretary-general Koichi Kato argue that Ikeda is trying to take over the wholecountry through the get-out-the-vote efforts of its brigades of housewife proselytizers.That is a group that used to include Nobuhira, who as a former member now sides with theNichiren priests.Japan's religious wars rage on.Postscript: The Nobuhira lawsuit against Ikeda was dismissed by a Japanese court in 1996 and in2006 that lower court decision was upheld by the Supreme Court.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subjectclick here.
Look Into Ikeda's Rape Case !!
Quotations from the account, which was written by the victim of Ikeda's rape Mrs.Nobuhira are asfollows ;It was in 1971 when the Soka Gakkai constructed Onuma Training Center, an expansive facilitycovering nearly 2 acres of land inside the boundaries of the Onuma National Park ( in Hokkaido ).And, since June, 1973, Daisaku Ikeda came there for the summer. Taking care of Ikeda at the main building of the Onuma Training Center was my responsibility. That was an order from the topleaders of the Soka Gakkai. The third floor of the main building was Ikeda's private facility, whichhad a Japanese cypress bath. No one, not even the top leaders, were allowed to go there. In thosedays in 1973, I was the only one allowed to go to the third floor.
A Photo taken at the Onuma Training Center ( The womandirectly on Ikeda's right side is Mrs.Nobuhira. The second over from Ikeda on his left is hiswife, Kaneko. )The First Rape Case
It happened on the 3rd day after Ikeda's arrival in Onuma, in other words, the evening of June27. As part of my duties, I went up to the 3rd floor at 9:00 p.m. to lay out Ikeda's Futon, just as I haddone on the two previous evenings, never suspecting that I was about to undergo a terrifying andhumiliating experience. On the first and second evenings, Ikeda had not been present, but when Iwent up that night, he was in the office next to the bed room, writing something. He wore longunder pants and a crepe shirt. I entered, saying, " Please pardon my intrusion.", and thinking that Imust not disturb him, I began to close the sliding doors between the bedroom and the office.However, Ikeda said, " Leave them open. " I was slouched over, spreading out the sheets with my back to Ikeda when he suddenly leaned against me from behind. This happened in the blink of aneye. While pushing down on me, Ikeda's hands reached for my shoulders and he pulled at both the
collar of my blouse, so it offered not the slightest resistance. The buttons popped off and scatteredabout. I tried desperately to flee, but with Ikeda's enormous body crushing me, I was unable to evenmove. He violently tore open my skirt. As he panted with harsh breath, Ikeda spit out, " Just onelayer of underwear, I see. " and he shoved his hand into my underwear. Aside from being pusheddown upon with tremendous force, I was so afraid I was unable to speak. Then Ikeda firmly spearedme from behind. I continued to attempt to resist, struggling and writhing, when everything went pitch black. I lost consciousness lying prostrate. How much time elapsed, I have no idea. Though Iwas prostrate when I blacked out, when I regained consciousness feeling cold, I found that I had been asleep under the blankets facing the ceiling. With a start, I attempted to be flee, but perhaps because I was petrified with terror, I was unable to stand up. In spite of that, I somehow managed toget to my feet and, clutching my clothes which had lain scattered about, I started to flee. When Idid,Ikeda firmly pulled on my ancle. and shouted, " Let's stay in bed awhile ! ". With my ancle inhis grasp, I struck my knee against the threshold.When I made another effort to flee, Ikeda again pulled on my ancle.Crawling, I made it to the door. Ikeda persisted in pursuing me. I hit my head onthe door. My heart was beating frantically. I truly felt that I might be murdered right there. I wasterribly frightened. I finally opened the door, ran down to the second floor and dashed into the bathroom. Violent nausea overtook me for some time. Then I calmed myself and wiped repeatedlyat the body fluids which smeared my lawer parts. I continued wiping all the more even after myskin turned red.→Ikeda's Intence Body Odor Article taken from:http://www.toride.org/edata/gpower.html
THE POWER OF SOKA GAKKAI
TIME Magazine November 20, 1995 Volume 146, No. 21Return to Contents pageJAPANTHE POWER OF SOKA GAKKAIGROWING REVELATIONS ABOUT THE COMPLICATED AND SINISTER NEXUS OFPOLITICS AND RELIGIONEDWARD W. DESMOND/TOKYO REPORTED BY IRENE M. KUNII/TOKYOOn Sept. 1, Akiyo Asaki, 50, a local assemblywoman from HigashiMurayama, a city on the western outskirts of Tokyo, walked out of her office without explanationand without taking any identification. According to police, a few hours later she climbed the external stairs of a nearby office building to the fifthfloor, scaled a 1.2-m-high wall and jumped to her death. Police concluded that Asaki had takenher own life--until her family protested. "She was not the type to commit suicide," says a closefriend and fellow assembly member, Hozumi Yano. "She was always cheerful, even though sheknew she was up against a powerful organization."That organization is Soka Gakkai, Japan's most powerful Buddhist sect.It has at least 8.12 million members; assets estimated to be as high as $100 billion; and a politicaloffshoot, the Komeito (Clean Government Party), that has long been a force in the Diet and inregional assemblies throughout thecountry. In Asaki's view, Soka Gakkai (Value-creating Society) was becoming a bit too forceful.She was helping ex-Soka Gakkai members who were being harassed for quitting, and based onher own investigations,she had accused Komeito politicians of using their clout to give local government contracts toSoka Gakkaimembers. In recent months she had received anonymous death threats onthe phone. No one in authority has suggested that Soka Gakkai had a role inAsaki's death, and the group has categorically denied any connection with the mysteriousincident.The sect filed a criminal defamation law suit against Shukan Gendai, a national weekly, for publishing a story in which Asaki's husband and daughter alleged that Soka Gakkai was responsible for her death. The NationalPolice Agency has since instructed local law-enforcement officials to investigate the incident"carefully." And a member of the Liberal Democratic Party has raised the case in a specialcommittee hearing inthe Lower House of the Diet that began two weeks ago to review the freedoms enjoyed byreligious groups. Other party legislators are preparing to bring up the Asaki incident in similar Upper Househearings due to begin later this month.At issue is not a single unexplained death but growing revelations aboutthe complicated, sometimes sinister nexus of religion and politics in modern Japan.
The outcome of the debates in the Diet will have a profound effect on religious freedom, as wellas on the volatile world of politics.The hearings center on a proposal to revise the 1951 Religious Corporations Law, which grants broad freedom from official scrutiny and taxation to thousands of officially recognized religiousgroups. The Lower House special committee approved the revisions last week and, followingseveral weeks of debate in the Upper House, the proposed changes are almost certain to beapproved by both chambers next month. Put forward byPrime Minister Tomiichi Murayama's administration, the revisions wouldintroduce more government oversight.In the past such a tightening would have sparked an outcry against authoritarianism, but pollstoday show that more than 80% of Japanese are ready to put out the watchdog.In large part, that change of mood is a reaction to Aum Shinrikyo, theapocalyptic cult whose leader, Shoko Asahara, will soon stand trial for ordering the March 20sarin-gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.Almost as shocking as the 11 deaths that day was the realization thatAum and all other national religious groups face virtually no official scrutiny. As a result, Aummembers allegedly were able to carry out astring of serious crimes, including the murder of dissident membersand troublesome critics, without attracting much police attention--until the subway attack.Asahara's lethal, comic-book conspiracy to take over the governmentdid not come close to success, but it left Japanese wondering what other madness might belurking in the wings. No one was reassured to learnthat the police habitually turn a blind eye to the activities of religious groups, in part because theyfear being tarred as "oppressors." Fifty years ago, Japan's secret police locked up anyone whoopposed "state Shinto," the religion of Emperor worship that lost its official status only whenJapan was defeated in World War II.After the war, Japan righted the wrong by granting almost boundless freedom to religious groups.As a result, a tiny, extreme group like Aum Shinrikyo prospered, asdid far more powerful, mainstream Buddhist organizations, such as Soka Gakkai. They face notaxation on activities generously defined as religious and benefit from cut-rate taxes on theirextensive business operations. Not only Soka Gakkai but also other large Buddhist sects cultivate politicians; many political leaders proudly associate themselveswith Buddhist and Shinto religious organizations. No group is quite so disciplined, determined or focused on political power as Soka Gakkai, which is well positioned to wield immense influence over nationalaffairs. For years its members have constituted a vastarmy of volunteer canvassers and fund raisers for Komeito, which untilrecently had 52 seats in the powerful 511-member Lower House, as well as a strong position inmany city and prefectural assemblies. Last year Komeito merged with Shinshinto, the mainopposition party.Shinshinto's chief rival, the L.D.P., like most parties in Japan, has been badly weakened by the political turmoil of the past two years and is terrified by the prospectof a showdown with Soka Gakkai, given itstacit support for Shinshinto. The Liberal Democrats' fears are well
grounded: Shinshinto officials admit that in a July Upper House election, Soka Gakkai wasresponsible for about half the party's 12.5 millionvotes, the best showing by any political faction.If Prime Minister Murayama's Liberal Democratic-led coalition losesout in elections expected over the coming six months, Shinshinto could form the nextgovernment and ex-Komeito members would emerge in many Cabinet posts. Komeito previouslyhad seats in two short-lived Cabinets without scandal, but some fear that Soka Gakkai would useKomeito members to shield the sect and its leader, Daisaku Ikeda, from investigation, promote itsmilitant Buddhist tradition or abuse power in other ways.Says independent legislator Keigo Ouchi, Health Minister in the 1993-94 coalition Cabinet thatincluded Komeito: "Their [Komeito politicians'] loyalty is to Ikeda first and the country second.That is frightening." What also raises suspicions is the sect's strict internal discipline andfollowers'well-documented allegations of violent intimidation tactics against critics and ex-members. SaysShizuka Kamei, a right-wing Liberal Democraticlegislator, former police official and anti-Soka Gakkai campaigner:"Japan is finished if Soka Gakkai takes over. State Shinto will look good by comparison."The sect's spokesmen deny that Soka Gakkai is interested in political power and point out that itsevered formal ties with Komeito in 1970. That contention is not widely accepted in Japan;nearly all Komeito legislators were Soka Gakkai faithful before the merger with Shinshinto and presumably still are, although they typically insist they are nothing more than religious men witha political calling. Asks Masao Akamatsu, a former Komeito member and now a Shinshintolegislator:"What's so strange about having a religious group behind a political party? All we do is chant our prayer." Not quite. They also look to the leadership of Ikeda, 67, the enigmatic figure who is the sect'shonorary president and unquestioned commander. At a closed meeting of top officials last Augustat a Soka Gakkai facility in Karuizawa, a small resort town in the Japan Alps, Ikeda showed hishand. According to a member who was present, he said, "This time, not the next time, [theelection] is going to be about winning or losing. We cannot hesitate. We must conquer thecountry with one stroke."For some Liberal Democrats, tightening the Religious Corporations Lawis one way to head off the Soka Gakkai challenge to the L.D.P., as well as help prevent anotherAum incident. The new legislation would place nationally based groups under the supervision ofthe Ministry of Education, one of the most conservative institutions in the country, and forcethem to disclose to tax authorities and their membership all details of their financial transactions.The aim is to get more leverage over groups,including Soka Gakkai, whose members sometimes act as though they areabove the law.Junko Ando, 38, tells a not untypical story. The piano teacher saysshe joined Soka Gakkai eight years ago because "I had no religion of my own. I wasn't unhappy, but I found a lot of fulfillment in the teachingsof Buddha and Nichiren,"a 13th century Japanese monk. She becamedisillusioned because of sect officials' emphasis on fund raising, election activities and what shecalls "the Ikeda personality-cult tendency." Shequit and helped more than 30 others leave as well. That move led to
threats and eventually an attack in which a man she recognized as a sect member twisted her armand took away a camera she was carrying. Shaken but unhurt, she jotted down the license plate of his car as it droveaway and complained to the police. But as often happens in cases involving religious groups, theauthorities did not investigate fully, explainingthat there was insufficient evidence to track down the suspect.Soka Gakkai opposes the religious-law changes, as do most other religious groups to varying degrees, with the exception of Reiyukai, a major Buddhist group, andthe Association of Shinto Shrines. Most opponents point to the Liberal Democrats' obvious political motive. "The L.D.P.has openly stated that the proposed legislation revision is intended to rein in our activities," saysEinosuke Akiya, president of Soka Gakkai."This is sinister indeed." Shinshinto's chief, Ichiro Ozawa, is similarly indignant: "It's anappalling piece of legislation. It's reminiscent of the prewar years."Critics also point out that the real issue, at least in the case of Aum Shinrikyo, was the failure ofthe police, not an excess of religious freedoms. The Roman Catholic bishops' conference issued astatement warning that the proposed changes "open the way to guidance and direction bygovernment agencies and make it possible that the 'separation of church and state' may bedenied."In the eyes of Soka Gakkai members, there is considerable reason to fear state authority. The sectwas founded in 1930 as the lay arm of the Nichiren Shoshu, one of 38 Buddhist organizationsthat claim to represent the teachings of Nichiren. Soka Gakkai's founder, TsunesaburoMakiguchi, was eager to reform the school system to include Nichiren's teachings, but the veryidea was enough to land him in prison in 1943 for opposing state-ordered Emperor worship.Makiguchi died behind bars, but his disciple Josei Toda survived imprisonment to lead the groupafter the war. Toda believed political influence was the key to protecting Soka Gakkai from persecution, and the sect began putting up its own candidates for localelections in 1955.Two years after Toda's death in 1958, Ikeda, a longtime Soka Gakkai official, assumed the presidency and accelerated efforts to gain political influence for the sect.Toshimitsu Ryu, Soka Gokkai's first political strategist and a senior official until he quit the sectin 1991, helped design a plan in the 1960s aimed atwinning office in Tokyo and then other major cities. In 1965 Komeitogained 23 seats in the then 120-seat Tokyo assembly, and ever since has been the fulcrum of power in the fragmented chamber. Says Ryu, a former Komeito Tokyo assembly member: "They have used their position to gaininfluence over city officials and the Tokyo city budget, particularly the police budget."According to Ryu, it was Ikeda who transformed Soka Gakkai's strategyof self-protection into a bid for political power. In 1964 Ikeda formed Komeito, and it made itsdebut in national politics a year later by winning 25 seats in the Lower House of the Diet. In1970, after a scandal in which Komeito leaders tried to persuade retailers not to sell a bookcritical of Soka Gakkai, Ikeda announced that the sect would stay out of politics and Komeitowould be independent. But Soka Gakkai is still widely thought to be calling the shots behind thescenes. "It's a lie," says Ryu. "On the surface we pretended that Komeito was separate, but it was always the political arm of the organization."
To most Soka Gakkai members, the world of politics is far away. Theysee the sect as a source of community and spiritual comfort. It teaches a variant of MahayanaBuddhism developed by Nichiren. He taught thatfollowers could attain salvation by chanting every day the simplewords, "I take my refuge in the Lotus Sutra." The Lotus Sutra, one of the most widely veneratedscriptures of Mahayana Buddhism, teaches thatthere is only one path to enlightenment and it is accessible toeveryone.Soka Gakkai followers are taught to chant and recite passages from theLotus Sutra in front of a small altar that holds the Gohonzon, a copy of a small scroll inscribedwith Chinese characters that symbolizes the Lotus Sutra. They fervently believe their prayers bring them good fortune in this life as well as the next one. Japan's rapid economic growththrough the end of the 1980s was the best recruiting agent Soka Gakkai could have desired. SaysMasao Okkotsu, a former member who has written extensively on theorganization: "As Japan entered an era of high economic growth, peoplemoved from rural areas to industrial centers. They were lonely, poor and cut off. Soka Gakkaioffered companionship, easy loans and an ideology to fill the gap." Nichiren taught that chantingmakes Buddhists better people and that that in turn improves society as a whole.Most members get their news from the daily Seikyo Shimbun (circ. 5.5million), the sect's official publication, and many send their children to Soka Gakkai--sponsoredschools. The best go on to Tokyo's highly competitive Soka University. Near the group'snondescript headquarters in Shinanomachi, Tokyo, the sect owns many surrounding buildings,and security is a major worry.Members in blue blazers with walkie-talkies stand on street corners for blocks around. Last year,according to a leaked police report, Aum Shinrikyo allegedly tried to kill Ikeda.Dedicated members--housewives are the biggest group--immerse themselves in raising money,making converts and canvassing for political causes. Their persistence is well known:they call neighbors repeatedly before elections, and then afterward to ask how they voted. Mostmembers are quite ready to hand over asignificant part of their earnings to the group--anywhere from $100 ayear to tens of thousands of dollars."Soka Gakkai followers believe they will be compensated in their own lifetimes," says YoshiyukiWakamatsu, 52, a Tokyo factory worker. "The more you give, the more you receive."Soka Gakkai's yearly fund drives raise an estimated $2 billion in cash.At the center of this universe is Ikeda, a balding, stocky man whose appearance at rallies makes people burst into tears of joy because he is revered as a great teacher who has shown his flock theway to happiness and fulfillment. Says Chie Sunada, 22: "[Ikeda] teaches us the basics of howwe should live. He is really a great master."Soka Gakkai's greatest vulnerability is its dark side. Nichiren was deeply intolerant of otherBuddhist sects. He insisted that all Zen followers are devils, and he justified militancy and evenviolence to defend his sect and to repress rival organizations. The government under theKamakura shogunate exiled him twice for predicting disasters and foreign invasions if thecountry's leaders did not stamp out competing sects. Soka Gakkai shares Nichiren's militantaspect. It is openly hostile to other creeds, and members, especially important ones, run afrightening gauntlet if they try toquit.
According to ex-followers, Soka Gakkai spies on its own ranks, trailing and intimidating thosewho are unsure of their commitment. Shuichi Sanuki, editor of a biweekly newspaper for the10,000 members of the Soka Gakkai Victims Association, claims to have overseen, among otheractivities, the sect's alleged spying apparatus in Tokyo. He quit, along with many otherdisenchanted members, in 1991 when the Nichiren Shoshu, which provided the sect's priesthood,grew angry over Ikeda's attempts to take over the religious wing and excommunicated him.Sanuki says he received death threats over the phone, and members of the Soka GakkaiHousewives' Association even contacted his wife and urged her to divorce him. Says he: "I knowwhat the group does to people whom it regards as its enemies. It's not safe for anyone who daresto criticize it."For its part, Soka Gakkai resolutely denies any involvement in suchharassment.So do Komeito legislators, who claim to stand against corruption and pacifism. Yet the party hadlong-standing back-room ties with the most corrupt faction in the l.d.p., the group formed aroundthe lateKakuei Tanaka. Though Liberal Democrats denounce Soka Gakkai today, the sect has beenhelpful in the past, most notably supporting the l.d.p. on the passage of a controversial 1992 lawthat permitted Japan to sendtroops overseas on U.N. peacekeeping missions for the first time. In return, admitted the lateForeign Minister Michio Watanabe in a 1993 magazine interview, the l.d.p.government quashed a tax case aimed atthe sect.Last year 64 Komeito members of the Upper and Lower houses of the Diet merged with Ozawa'sShinshinto in a move to improve their chances in the next national elections. Ozawa could notresist the temptation to win the backing of Soka Gakkai's grass-roots activists. Shinshinto deniesthat it receives any funds from Soka Gakkai and insists that Shinshinto is in the driver's seat.Says Hajime Funada, a Shinshinto legislator whois not a member of Soka Gakkai: "As long as they have no more than 50%of political power, it's all right.But we do need to take care to keep their influence in check."The debate about Soka Gakkai's intentions leads back to Ikeda, whose favorite phrase whenexhorting his senior followers is Tenka o toru (conquer the country). In his rare public interviews,Ikeda presents himself as a moderate who has been miscast by the press. "I am an ordinary andserious man," he told the BBC in an interview this year. "The mass media, with the exception ofthe bbc, make up this image of me as a dictator and so forth. This troubles me very much."Whatever his political ambitions, Ikeda enjoys the limelight on his own terms. Like manywealthy, would-be world figures, he seeks chances to meet international celebrities such asMargaret Thatcher or, just this year, Nelson Mandela, in order to enhance his stature among thefollowers. He has also built up a pricey art collection for Soka Gakkai, including two Renoirs,sometimes buying numerous paintings at a time from a single gallery and having aides pay forthe works with suitcases of cash that they carry on trips.To his followers he is irresistible, the pinnacle of the organization that means so much to them.But on the rare occasion when he appears in public, like at a 1993 meeting of Soka GakkaiInternational in California, Ikeda comes off as surprisingly voluble and erratic. On that occasion,he repeatedly pounded the table with both hands and mocked President Bill Clinton. Formerclose associates like Ryu insist that Ikeda is not very religious.
Read free for 30 days.
Get 30 days of free Scribd membership when you invite your friends.Invite FriendsInvite friends to join Scribd
Whatever Ikeda's strengths or failings, the spotlight is on Soka Gakkai, and the sect is determinedto prove it is a benign if not benevolent force in society. President Akiya has declared the sectwill drop its antagonistic views toward other groups. Says former Komeito member Akamatsu: "Ican understand why the l.d.p. is saying that Ikeda is intent on seizing political power. In the past,Komeito wanted to spread the Nichiren prayer for the good of the people. But those days areover."In the view of the Liberal Democrats, however, Soka Gakkai's past leaves too many questionsunanswered. Says Koichi Kato, L.D.P.secretary-general: "If Shinshinto wins the next election, it will be thanks to the Soka Gakkaiengine. So, of course, Soka Gakkai can exert influence over the government. I don't think thatwill be a good thing."In the end, the voters can decide for themselves.--Reported by Irene M. Kunii/TokyoCopyright © 1995 Time Inc. All rights reserved.Article taken from:http://www.toride.org/edata/gpower.html
This page contains information The Rick A. Ross Institute hasgathered about Soka Gakkai.
Visit the Soka Gakkai Official Web Site
(Link takes you outside the Rick A. Ross Institute web site)
Visitor Comments
Former Soka University Professor Loses Appeal inReligious Discrimination Case LDP coalition partner Komeito devastated in election, leader loses seat PS 24's Principal Scharper ousted NYC Principal In Hot Water Over 'Buddhist Chants' PS 24 parents call for principal's ouster Soka Gakkai keeps religious, political machinehumming Ex-finance director of Soka University of Americapleads guilty in $1.7 million embezzlement Former Soka finance chief indictedSoka Gakkai uses celebrities for its 'secretrevolution' Has Orlando Bloom become thelatest celebrity "cult" casualty?Sensei's WorldUniversity considers selling property inSanta Monica MountainsKomeito torn between LDP, Soka Gakkai "Cult" or Buddhism?Smaller coalition parties strengthen Koizumi's grip inJapanSoka University Under FireShakeup, sit-in at Soka U.New college tryA New-View UniversityBuddhist Group Opens UniversityNew Komeito, Soka Gakkai to be tougher on Mori Who's Got The Power In Japan?Felonies and Favors: A Friend of the AttorneyGeneral Gathers Information from the JusticeDepartmentLawmakers feud on Buddhist ties Coalition membersmixed over Soka Gakkai Japanese Voters Wary Of Party Tied to SectA Sect's Political Rise Creates Uneasiness in JapanBuddhist U.Soka Gakkai Member, Shinichi Kuzuha, Arrested forAttempted ArsonSoka Gakkai warms to coalition planWire-Tapping Devices Found in Hotel RoomJapan's rush hour of the godsA Buddhist Leader Is Accused Of RapeSex case haunts Japan religious leaderWoman accuses Japan Buddhist leader of rapeSoka Gakkai head Ikeda allegedly raped followerSoka Gakkai sending warning signals to religiousworld calling for strong resistance against proposal for
Daisaku Ikeda,President
By Bradley Martin
The leader of eight million Japanese families which adhere to the Soka Gakkai offshoot ofBuddhism likes to be called the most powerful man in the country.Not so welcome to Daisaku Ikeda and his followers are recurrent charges that power hascorrupted him, as he has bent the doctrines of the faith to craft a personality cult in which hiswish is the command of followers - whether at the ballot box or in the boudoir.Ikeda has done more than anyone in the post-war era to inject religion into the country's politics.His organization's get-out-the-vote clout strikes fear into the hearts of opponents - to the extenthe has become the chief bogeyman of the Liberal Democratic Party and its partners in the rulingcoalition.But the tough-talking, 68-year-old pacifist, a big power behind the scenes in the opposition NewFrontier Party or Shinshin-to, can handle the slings and arrows from fellow politicians. Theattacks that really sting - and get the Soka Gakkai public relations apparatus humming - areaccusations of sexual peccadilloes, perhaps because they appear threatening to what is widelyseen as a more or less open campaign to win him a Nobel Peace Prize.The latest such charge comes from a former high-ranking follower, Nobuko Nobuhira, who hasfiled a civil lawsuit claiming that the "eternal master", as some followers have called him, rapedher brutally not once but three times - in 1973, 1983 and 1991 - while she worked as an unpaidSoka Gakkai local chief in Hakodate, Hokkaido.Ikeda was unavailable for comment but Soka Gakkai spokespersons vigorously denied the chargeand noted that Nobuhira, in the 23 years since the first alleged rape, had never brought acriminal charge. Her civil suit, they argued, was a media stunt by a disaffected ex-member whohad been kicked out, a ploy to avoid a quick resolution of the case and thus prolong the feedingof scandalous anti-Ikeda tidbits to the tabloid press."Without police investigation, the complainant can say anything she wants to in court, includingfabricated 'testimony' and 'evidence'," said a Soka Gakkai spokesman.The 69-year-old housewife at a press conference on Monday acknowledged that a major purposeof her suit was to let the public know "what kind of a human being Mr Ikeda really is". Her lawyerexplained that they had filed a civil suit in order to retain control of the case - a criminal casewould be handled by public prosecutors - and to avoid the humiliation of Nobuhira being grilledand put through graphic crime-scene re-enactments by the police.Mrs Nobuhira's accounts of the alleged rapes in the legal complaint and at the press conferencewere fairly graphic themselves. She told how Ikeda had visited Hakodate in June 1973 and shehad been in charge of all preparations for his visit. She was bending over making up his beddingon the straw-mat floor when Ikeda attacked her from behind, knocked her face-down on to thebedding and raped her, she said. Soon after that, she said, he started referring to her when hesaw her as "Nigo-san" (my mistress).A little over 10 years later, on the same premises, he raped her again. Another eight yearspassed before the third alleged attack - again at the Hakodate training center.Mrs Nobuhira was asked why, after the first and second alleged rapes, she stayed on, not only asa member of Soka Gakkai but in a position that would involve her deeply in providing hospitalityto Ikeda during his visits.She replied that she had built the local organization and she was a strong believer in theNichiren-sect Buddhist teachings that the lay group Sokka Gakkai espoused. It would have lookedstrange if she had stepped down, and she feared she would end up shamed by having to tell herhusband and others what Ikeda had done to her. By the time of the third alleged rape, she said,she mistakenly assumed she was out of danger on account of her age.
Soka Gakkai and Ikeda often have found themselves in public disputes. Ikeda sued the formereditor of a monthly magazine for libel after the magazine in 1976 printed articles about intimateaffairs he had allegedly had with female Soka Gakkai members. The editor drew a 10-monthprison sentence before the Supreme Court ordered a retrial.There are other issues as well. Some former members of the group have complained ofcampaigns of intimidation to keep members from leaving. A group of those dissidents alliedseveral years ago with priests of the Nichiren sect who excommunicated the entire membershipof Soka Gakkai.Soka Gakkai spokespersons described the Nichiren priests as a sybaritic lot who inherited theirtemples from their fathers and grandfathers, drove sports cars, dined with geisha and insistedthat priestly intervention - at a price - was necessary for spiritual salvation. Soka Gakkai arguesthat laypersons can find their own salvation through home repetition of a chant expressing beliefin the Lotus Sutra.In a more recent case, Soka Gakkai filed another criminal libel complaint against the editor of theweekly Gendai magazine and the husband and daughter of a local councilwoman who was founddead beneath an apartment building under suspicious circumstances. The complaint noted thatthe magazine's article suggested that Soka Gakkai had been involved in the death, which theauthorities ruled a suicide. The councilwoman was an anti-Soka Gakkai campaigner.Subsequently, reports appeared - not denied by Soka Gakkai - saying that the prosecutor whohad decided not to investigate possible homicide in the case was a graduate of the religiousgroup's Soka University.Political opponents of the group have sought to use such incidents to press for new legislation totighten separation between state and religion, a campaign that gathered steam after an upperhouse parliamentary election last year in which the group's support was decisive in victories byShinshin-to candidates.LDP leaders like secretary-general Koichi Kato argue that Ikeda is trying to take over the wholecountry through the get-out-the-vote efforts of its brigades of housewife proselytizers.That is a group that used to include Nobuhira, who as a former member now sides with theNichiren priests.Japan's religious wars rage on.Postscript: The Nobuhira lawsuit against Ikeda was dismissed by a Japanese court in 1996 and in2006 that lower court decision was upheld by the Supreme Court.
To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subjectclick here.
Look Into Ikeda's Rape Case !!
Quotations from the account, which was written by the victim of Ikeda's rape Mrs.Nobuhira are asfollows ;It was in 1971 when the Soka Gakkai constructed Onuma Training Center, an expansive facilitycovering nearly 2 acres of land inside the boundaries of the Onuma National Park ( in Hokkaido ).And, since June, 1973, Daisaku Ikeda came there for the summer. Taking care of Ikeda at the main building of the Onuma Training Center was my responsibility. That was an order from the topleaders of the Soka Gakkai. The third floor of the main building was Ikeda's private facility, whichhad a Japanese cypress bath. No one, not even the top leaders, were allowed to go there. In thosedays in 1973, I was the only one allowed to go to the third floor.
A Photo taken at the Onuma Training Center ( The womandirectly on Ikeda's right side is Mrs.Nobuhira. The second over from Ikeda on his left is hiswife, Kaneko. )The First Rape Case
It happened on the 3rd day after Ikeda's arrival in Onuma, in other words, the evening of June27. As part of my duties, I went up to the 3rd floor at 9:00 p.m. to lay out Ikeda's Futon, just as I haddone on the two previous evenings, never suspecting that I was about to undergo a terrifying andhumiliating experience. On the first and second evenings, Ikeda had not been present, but when Iwent up that night, he was in the office next to the bed room, writing something. He wore longunder pants and a crepe shirt. I entered, saying, " Please pardon my intrusion.", and thinking that Imust not disturb him, I began to close the sliding doors between the bedroom and the office.However, Ikeda said, " Leave them open. " I was slouched over, spreading out the sheets with my back to Ikeda when he suddenly leaned against me from behind. This happened in the blink of aneye. While pushing down on me, Ikeda's hands reached for my shoulders and he pulled at both the
collar of my blouse, so it offered not the slightest resistance. The buttons popped off and scatteredabout. I tried desperately to flee, but with Ikeda's enormous body crushing me, I was unable to evenmove. He violently tore open my skirt. As he panted with harsh breath, Ikeda spit out, " Just onelayer of underwear, I see. " and he shoved his hand into my underwear. Aside from being pusheddown upon with tremendous force, I was so afraid I was unable to speak. Then Ikeda firmly spearedme from behind. I continued to attempt to resist, struggling and writhing, when everything went pitch black. I lost consciousness lying prostrate. How much time elapsed, I have no idea. Though Iwas prostrate when I blacked out, when I regained consciousness feeling cold, I found that I had been asleep under the blankets facing the ceiling. With a start, I attempted to be flee, but perhaps because I was petrified with terror, I was unable to stand up. In spite of that, I somehow managed toget to my feet and, clutching my clothes which had lain scattered about, I started to flee. When Idid,Ikeda firmly pulled on my ancle. and shouted, " Let's stay in bed awhile ! ". With my ancle inhis grasp, I struck my knee against the threshold.When I made another effort to flee, Ikeda again pulled on my ancle.Crawling, I made it to the door. Ikeda persisted in pursuing me. I hit my head onthe door. My heart was beating frantically. I truly felt that I might be murdered right there. I wasterribly frightened. I finally opened the door, ran down to the second floor and dashed into the bathroom. Violent nausea overtook me for some time. Then I calmed myself and wiped repeatedlyat the body fluids which smeared my lawer parts. I continued wiping all the more even after myskin turned red.→Ikeda's Intence Body Odor Article taken from:http://www.toride.org/edata/gpower.html
THE POWER OF SOKA GAKKAI
TIME Magazine November 20, 1995 Volume 146, No. 21Return to Contents pageJAPANTHE POWER OF SOKA GAKKAIGROWING REVELATIONS ABOUT THE COMPLICATED AND SINISTER NEXUS OFPOLITICS AND RELIGIONEDWARD W. DESMOND/TOKYO REPORTED BY IRENE M. KUNII/TOKYOOn Sept. 1, Akiyo Asaki, 50, a local assemblywoman from HigashiMurayama, a city on the western outskirts of Tokyo, walked out of her office without explanationand without taking any identification. According to police, a few hours later she climbed the external stairs of a nearby office building to the fifthfloor, scaled a 1.2-m-high wall and jumped to her death. Police concluded that Asaki had takenher own life--until her family protested. "She was not the type to commit suicide," says a closefriend and fellow assembly member, Hozumi Yano. "She was always cheerful, even though sheknew she was up against a powerful organization."That organization is Soka Gakkai, Japan's most powerful Buddhist sect.It has at least 8.12 million members; assets estimated to be as high as $100 billion; and a politicaloffshoot, the Komeito (Clean Government Party), that has long been a force in the Diet and inregional assemblies throughout thecountry. In Asaki's view, Soka Gakkai (Value-creating Society) was becoming a bit too forceful.She was helping ex-Soka Gakkai members who were being harassed for quitting, and based onher own investigations,she had accused Komeito politicians of using their clout to give local government contracts toSoka Gakkaimembers. In recent months she had received anonymous death threats onthe phone. No one in authority has suggested that Soka Gakkai had a role inAsaki's death, and the group has categorically denied any connection with the mysteriousincident.The sect filed a criminal defamation law suit against Shukan Gendai, a national weekly, for publishing a story in which Asaki's husband and daughter alleged that Soka Gakkai was responsible for her death. The NationalPolice Agency has since instructed local law-enforcement officials to investigate the incident"carefully." And a member of the Liberal Democratic Party has raised the case in a specialcommittee hearing inthe Lower House of the Diet that began two weeks ago to review the freedoms enjoyed byreligious groups. Other party legislators are preparing to bring up the Asaki incident in similar Upper Househearings due to begin later this month.At issue is not a single unexplained death but growing revelations aboutthe complicated, sometimes sinister nexus of religion and politics in modern Japan.
The outcome of the debates in the Diet will have a profound effect on religious freedom, as wellas on the volatile world of politics.The hearings center on a proposal to revise the 1951 Religious Corporations Law, which grants broad freedom from official scrutiny and taxation to thousands of officially recognized religiousgroups. The Lower House special committee approved the revisions last week and, followingseveral weeks of debate in the Upper House, the proposed changes are almost certain to beapproved by both chambers next month. Put forward byPrime Minister Tomiichi Murayama's administration, the revisions wouldintroduce more government oversight.In the past such a tightening would have sparked an outcry against authoritarianism, but pollstoday show that more than 80% of Japanese are ready to put out the watchdog.In large part, that change of mood is a reaction to Aum Shinrikyo, theapocalyptic cult whose leader, Shoko Asahara, will soon stand trial for ordering the March 20sarin-gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.Almost as shocking as the 11 deaths that day was the realization thatAum and all other national religious groups face virtually no official scrutiny. As a result, Aummembers allegedly were able to carry out astring of serious crimes, including the murder of dissident membersand troublesome critics, without attracting much police attention--until the subway attack.Asahara's lethal, comic-book conspiracy to take over the governmentdid not come close to success, but it left Japanese wondering what other madness might belurking in the wings. No one was reassured to learnthat the police habitually turn a blind eye to the activities of religious groups, in part because theyfear being tarred as "oppressors." Fifty years ago, Japan's secret police locked up anyone whoopposed "state Shinto," the religion of Emperor worship that lost its official status only whenJapan was defeated in World War II.After the war, Japan righted the wrong by granting almost boundless freedom to religious groups.As a result, a tiny, extreme group like Aum Shinrikyo prospered, asdid far more powerful, mainstream Buddhist organizations, such as Soka Gakkai. They face notaxation on activities generously defined as religious and benefit from cut-rate taxes on theirextensive business operations. Not only Soka Gakkai but also other large Buddhist sects cultivate politicians; many political leaders proudly associate themselveswith Buddhist and Shinto religious organizations. No group is quite so disciplined, determined or focused on political power as Soka Gakkai, which is well positioned to wield immense influence over nationalaffairs. For years its members have constituted a vastarmy of volunteer canvassers and fund raisers for Komeito, which untilrecently had 52 seats in the powerful 511-member Lower House, as well as a strong position inmany city and prefectural assemblies. Last year Komeito merged with Shinshinto, the mainopposition party.Shinshinto's chief rival, the L.D.P., like most parties in Japan, has been badly weakened by the political turmoil of the past two years and is terrified by the prospectof a showdown with Soka Gakkai, given itstacit support for Shinshinto. The Liberal Democrats' fears are well
grounded: Shinshinto officials admit that in a July Upper House election, Soka Gakkai wasresponsible for about half the party's 12.5 millionvotes, the best showing by any political faction.If Prime Minister Murayama's Liberal Democratic-led coalition losesout in elections expected over the coming six months, Shinshinto could form the nextgovernment and ex-Komeito members would emerge in many Cabinet posts. Komeito previouslyhad seats in two short-lived Cabinets without scandal, but some fear that Soka Gakkai would useKomeito members to shield the sect and its leader, Daisaku Ikeda, from investigation, promote itsmilitant Buddhist tradition or abuse power in other ways.Says independent legislator Keigo Ouchi, Health Minister in the 1993-94 coalition Cabinet thatincluded Komeito: "Their [Komeito politicians'] loyalty is to Ikeda first and the country second.That is frightening." What also raises suspicions is the sect's strict internal discipline andfollowers'well-documented allegations of violent intimidation tactics against critics and ex-members. SaysShizuka Kamei, a right-wing Liberal Democraticlegislator, former police official and anti-Soka Gakkai campaigner:"Japan is finished if Soka Gakkai takes over. State Shinto will look good by comparison."The sect's spokesmen deny that Soka Gakkai is interested in political power and point out that itsevered formal ties with Komeito in 1970. That contention is not widely accepted in Japan;nearly all Komeito legislators were Soka Gakkai faithful before the merger with Shinshinto and presumably still are, although they typically insist they are nothing more than religious men witha political calling. Asks Masao Akamatsu, a former Komeito member and now a Shinshintolegislator:"What's so strange about having a religious group behind a political party? All we do is chant our prayer." Not quite. They also look to the leadership of Ikeda, 67, the enigmatic figure who is the sect'shonorary president and unquestioned commander. At a closed meeting of top officials last Augustat a Soka Gakkai facility in Karuizawa, a small resort town in the Japan Alps, Ikeda showed hishand. According to a member who was present, he said, "This time, not the next time, [theelection] is going to be about winning or losing. We cannot hesitate. We must conquer thecountry with one stroke."For some Liberal Democrats, tightening the Religious Corporations Lawis one way to head off the Soka Gakkai challenge to the L.D.P., as well as help prevent anotherAum incident. The new legislation would place nationally based groups under the supervision ofthe Ministry of Education, one of the most conservative institutions in the country, and forcethem to disclose to tax authorities and their membership all details of their financial transactions.The aim is to get more leverage over groups,including Soka Gakkai, whose members sometimes act as though they areabove the law.Junko Ando, 38, tells a not untypical story. The piano teacher saysshe joined Soka Gakkai eight years ago because "I had no religion of my own. I wasn't unhappy, but I found a lot of fulfillment in the teachingsof Buddha and Nichiren,"a 13th century Japanese monk. She becamedisillusioned because of sect officials' emphasis on fund raising, election activities and what shecalls "the Ikeda personality-cult tendency." Shequit and helped more than 30 others leave as well. That move led to
threats and eventually an attack in which a man she recognized as a sect member twisted her armand took away a camera she was carrying. Shaken but unhurt, she jotted down the license plate of his car as it droveaway and complained to the police. But as often happens in cases involving religious groups, theauthorities did not investigate fully, explainingthat there was insufficient evidence to track down the suspect.Soka Gakkai opposes the religious-law changes, as do most other religious groups to varying degrees, with the exception of Reiyukai, a major Buddhist group, andthe Association of Shinto Shrines. Most opponents point to the Liberal Democrats' obvious political motive. "The L.D.P.has openly stated that the proposed legislation revision is intended to rein in our activities," saysEinosuke Akiya, president of Soka Gakkai."This is sinister indeed." Shinshinto's chief, Ichiro Ozawa, is similarly indignant: "It's anappalling piece of legislation. It's reminiscent of the prewar years."Critics also point out that the real issue, at least in the case of Aum Shinrikyo, was the failure ofthe police, not an excess of religious freedoms. The Roman Catholic bishops' conference issued astatement warning that the proposed changes "open the way to guidance and direction bygovernment agencies and make it possible that the 'separation of church and state' may bedenied."In the eyes of Soka Gakkai members, there is considerable reason to fear state authority. The sectwas founded in 1930 as the lay arm of the Nichiren Shoshu, one of 38 Buddhist organizationsthat claim to represent the teachings of Nichiren. Soka Gakkai's founder, TsunesaburoMakiguchi, was eager to reform the school system to include Nichiren's teachings, but the veryidea was enough to land him in prison in 1943 for opposing state-ordered Emperor worship.Makiguchi died behind bars, but his disciple Josei Toda survived imprisonment to lead the groupafter the war. Toda believed political influence was the key to protecting Soka Gakkai from persecution, and the sect began putting up its own candidates for localelections in 1955.Two years after Toda's death in 1958, Ikeda, a longtime Soka Gakkai official, assumed the presidency and accelerated efforts to gain political influence for the sect.Toshimitsu Ryu, Soka Gokkai's first political strategist and a senior official until he quit the sectin 1991, helped design a plan in the 1960s aimed atwinning office in Tokyo and then other major cities. In 1965 Komeitogained 23 seats in the then 120-seat Tokyo assembly, and ever since has been the fulcrum of power in the fragmented chamber. Says Ryu, a former Komeito Tokyo assembly member: "They have used their position to gaininfluence over city officials and the Tokyo city budget, particularly the police budget."According to Ryu, it was Ikeda who transformed Soka Gakkai's strategyof self-protection into a bid for political power. In 1964 Ikeda formed Komeito, and it made itsdebut in national politics a year later by winning 25 seats in the Lower House of the Diet. In1970, after a scandal in which Komeito leaders tried to persuade retailers not to sell a bookcritical of Soka Gakkai, Ikeda announced that the sect would stay out of politics and Komeitowould be independent. But Soka Gakkai is still widely thought to be calling the shots behind thescenes. "It's a lie," says Ryu. "On the surface we pretended that Komeito was separate, but it was always the political arm of the organization."
To most Soka Gakkai members, the world of politics is far away. Theysee the sect as a source of community and spiritual comfort. It teaches a variant of MahayanaBuddhism developed by Nichiren. He taught thatfollowers could attain salvation by chanting every day the simplewords, "I take my refuge in the Lotus Sutra." The Lotus Sutra, one of the most widely veneratedscriptures of Mahayana Buddhism, teaches thatthere is only one path to enlightenment and it is accessible toeveryone.Soka Gakkai followers are taught to chant and recite passages from theLotus Sutra in front of a small altar that holds the Gohonzon, a copy of a small scroll inscribedwith Chinese characters that symbolizes the Lotus Sutra. They fervently believe their prayers bring them good fortune in this life as well as the next one. Japan's rapid economic growththrough the end of the 1980s was the best recruiting agent Soka Gakkai could have desired. SaysMasao Okkotsu, a former member who has written extensively on theorganization: "As Japan entered an era of high economic growth, peoplemoved from rural areas to industrial centers. They were lonely, poor and cut off. Soka Gakkaioffered companionship, easy loans and an ideology to fill the gap." Nichiren taught that chantingmakes Buddhists better people and that that in turn improves society as a whole.Most members get their news from the daily Seikyo Shimbun (circ. 5.5million), the sect's official publication, and many send their children to Soka Gakkai--sponsoredschools. The best go on to Tokyo's highly competitive Soka University. Near the group'snondescript headquarters in Shinanomachi, Tokyo, the sect owns many surrounding buildings,and security is a major worry.Members in blue blazers with walkie-talkies stand on street corners for blocks around. Last year,according to a leaked police report, Aum Shinrikyo allegedly tried to kill Ikeda.Dedicated members--housewives are the biggest group--immerse themselves in raising money,making converts and canvassing for political causes. Their persistence is well known:they call neighbors repeatedly before elections, and then afterward to ask how they voted. Mostmembers are quite ready to hand over asignificant part of their earnings to the group--anywhere from $100 ayear to tens of thousands of dollars."Soka Gakkai followers believe they will be compensated in their own lifetimes," says YoshiyukiWakamatsu, 52, a Tokyo factory worker. "The more you give, the more you receive."Soka Gakkai's yearly fund drives raise an estimated $2 billion in cash.At the center of this universe is Ikeda, a balding, stocky man whose appearance at rallies makes people burst into tears of joy because he is revered as a great teacher who has shown his flock theway to happiness and fulfillment. Says Chie Sunada, 22: "[Ikeda] teaches us the basics of howwe should live. He is really a great master."Soka Gakkai's greatest vulnerability is its dark side. Nichiren was deeply intolerant of otherBuddhist sects. He insisted that all Zen followers are devils, and he justified militancy and evenviolence to defend his sect and to repress rival organizations. The government under theKamakura shogunate exiled him twice for predicting disasters and foreign invasions if thecountry's leaders did not stamp out competing sects. Soka Gakkai shares Nichiren's militantaspect. It is openly hostile to other creeds, and members, especially important ones, run afrightening gauntlet if they try toquit.
According to ex-followers, Soka Gakkai spies on its own ranks, trailing and intimidating thosewho are unsure of their commitment. Shuichi Sanuki, editor of a biweekly newspaper for the10,000 members of the Soka Gakkai Victims Association, claims to have overseen, among otheractivities, the sect's alleged spying apparatus in Tokyo. He quit, along with many otherdisenchanted members, in 1991 when the Nichiren Shoshu, which provided the sect's priesthood,grew angry over Ikeda's attempts to take over the religious wing and excommunicated him.Sanuki says he received death threats over the phone, and members of the Soka GakkaiHousewives' Association even contacted his wife and urged her to divorce him. Says he: "I knowwhat the group does to people whom it regards as its enemies. It's not safe for anyone who daresto criticize it."For its part, Soka Gakkai resolutely denies any involvement in suchharassment.So do Komeito legislators, who claim to stand against corruption and pacifism. Yet the party hadlong-standing back-room ties with the most corrupt faction in the l.d.p., the group formed aroundthe lateKakuei Tanaka. Though Liberal Democrats denounce Soka Gakkai today, the sect has beenhelpful in the past, most notably supporting the l.d.p. on the passage of a controversial 1992 lawthat permitted Japan to sendtroops overseas on U.N. peacekeeping missions for the first time. In return, admitted the lateForeign Minister Michio Watanabe in a 1993 magazine interview, the l.d.p.government quashed a tax case aimed atthe sect.Last year 64 Komeito members of the Upper and Lower houses of the Diet merged with Ozawa'sShinshinto in a move to improve their chances in the next national elections. Ozawa could notresist the temptation to win the backing of Soka Gakkai's grass-roots activists. Shinshinto deniesthat it receives any funds from Soka Gakkai and insists that Shinshinto is in the driver's seat.Says Hajime Funada, a Shinshinto legislator whois not a member of Soka Gakkai: "As long as they have no more than 50%of political power, it's all right.But we do need to take care to keep their influence in check."The debate about Soka Gakkai's intentions leads back to Ikeda, whose favorite phrase whenexhorting his senior followers is Tenka o toru (conquer the country). In his rare public interviews,Ikeda presents himself as a moderate who has been miscast by the press. "I am an ordinary andserious man," he told the BBC in an interview this year. "The mass media, with the exception ofthe bbc, make up this image of me as a dictator and so forth. This troubles me very much."Whatever his political ambitions, Ikeda enjoys the limelight on his own terms. Like manywealthy, would-be world figures, he seeks chances to meet international celebrities such asMargaret Thatcher or, just this year, Nelson Mandela, in order to enhance his stature among thefollowers. He has also built up a pricey art collection for Soka Gakkai, including two Renoirs,sometimes buying numerous paintings at a time from a single gallery and having aides pay forthe works with suitcases of cash that they carry on trips.To his followers he is irresistible, the pinnacle of the organization that means so much to them.But on the rare occasion when he appears in public, like at a 1993 meeting of Soka GakkaiInternational in California, Ikeda comes off as surprisingly voluble and erratic. On that occasion,he repeatedly pounded the table with both hands and mocked President Bill Clinton. Formerclose associates like Ryu insist that Ikeda is not very religious.
Read free for 30 days.
Get 30 days of free Scribd membership when you invite your friends.Invite FriendsInvite friends to join Scribd
Whatever Ikeda's strengths or failings, the spotlight is on Soka Gakkai, and the sect is determinedto prove it is a benign if not benevolent force in society. President Akiya has declared the sectwill drop its antagonistic views toward other groups. Says former Komeito member Akamatsu: "Ican understand why the l.d.p. is saying that Ikeda is intent on seizing political power. In the past,Komeito wanted to spread the Nichiren prayer for the good of the people. But those days areover."In the view of the Liberal Democrats, however, Soka Gakkai's past leaves too many questionsunanswered. Says Koichi Kato, L.D.P.secretary-general: "If Shinshinto wins the next election, it will be thanks to the Soka Gakkaiengine. So, of course, Soka Gakkai can exert influence over the government. I don't think thatwill be a good thing."In the end, the voters can decide for themselves.--Reported by Irene M. Kunii/TokyoCopyright © 1995 Time Inc. All rights reserved.Article taken from:http://www.toride.org/edata/gpower.html
This page contains information The Rick A. Ross Institute hasgathered about Soka Gakkai.
Visit the Soka Gakkai Official Web Site
(Link takes you outside the Rick A. Ross Institute web site)
Visitor Comments
Former Soka University Professor Loses Appeal inReligious Discrimination Case LDP coalition partner Komeito devastated in election, leader loses seat PS 24's Principal Scharper ousted NYC Principal In Hot Water Over 'Buddhist Chants' PS 24 parents call for principal's ouster Soka Gakkai keeps religious, political machinehumming Ex-finance director of Soka University of Americapleads guilty in $1.7 million embezzlement Former Soka finance chief indictedSoka Gakkai uses celebrities for its 'secretrevolution' Has Orlando Bloom become thelatest celebrity "cult" casualty?Sensei's WorldUniversity considers selling property inSanta Monica MountainsKomeito torn between LDP, Soka Gakkai "Cult" or Buddhism?Smaller coalition parties strengthen Koizumi's grip inJapanSoka University Under FireShakeup, sit-in at Soka U.New college tryA New-View UniversityBuddhist Group Opens UniversityNew Komeito, Soka Gakkai to be tougher on Mori Who's Got The Power In Japan?Felonies and Favors: A Friend of the AttorneyGeneral Gathers Information from the JusticeDepartmentLawmakers feud on Buddhist ties Coalition membersmixed over Soka Gakkai Japanese Voters Wary Of Party Tied to SectA Sect's Political Rise Creates Uneasiness in JapanBuddhist U.Soka Gakkai Member, Shinichi Kuzuha, Arrested forAttempted ArsonSoka Gakkai warms to coalition planWire-Tapping Devices Found in Hotel RoomJapan's rush hour of the godsA Buddhist Leader Is Accused Of RapeSex case haunts Japan religious leaderWoman accuses Japan Buddhist leader of rapeSoka Gakkai head Ikeda allegedly raped followerSoka Gakkai sending warning signals to religiousworld calling for strong resistance against proposal for
Daisaku Ikeda,President
