The Seven Damning Sins of Soka Gakkai-Komeito

Preposterous Delusions and Expediencies

Komeito advocates "the middle-of-the-road politics" as the political idea
which transcends the antagaonisms between capitalism and socialism,
between materialism and idealism and is based on "high dimensional
philosophy of life." According to the party publication, "Komeito no
Ayumi" (Progress of Komeito), construction of "a peaceful, prosperous,
new society based on the  middle-of-the-road politics,  realization of abundant
 life through welfare of the masses;" "building a peaceful world without wars,"
etc. are all in a row advocated as their political vision.  However, in the light of
what Komeito has said before, when they speak of "humanity" or "the individual",
 I have the feeling that it means only those who belong to Soka Gakkai.
This tendency is made abundantly clear in their actions and in their ideology.
 This is why for the purpose of realizing obutsu myogo, they go to such alarming
extremes of "kosen rufu-shakubuku". Do they desire a happy, prosperous
society for all peoples, even for those who have different and various world views,
religions and philosophies? From their point of view, in order to accord with the
 individual happiness and prosperity of society and realize the true welfare of the
masses which their middle~of-the-road politics aims at, that the entire nation must
belong to Soka Gakkai is the indispensable condition.
Paradoxically speaking, doesn't the realization of the ideal society mean that only
Soka Gakkai members would prosper and be happy, and doesn't it mean that
non-members have no qualification to be happy? On the contrary, will they not
receive the punishment which is natural for those heretics who slander the right
doctrine (boho no to)?  It is not necessary to refer to the instance of the punishment
 received by Akio Saki, for criticizing Soka Gakkai. Therefore we must clearly
recognize the various implications and aims of their middle-of the-road politics and
 examine them carefully.  At least it is necessary to know that. this is nothing more
 than mere assertions to suit the occasion.
According to Komei Shimbun of January 1, 1967, they said  "By  means of
a middIe~of~the-road politics,  both capitalists and laborers, by standing on the
common position called 'humanity' can overcome present confrontations between
onservatives and progressives, between East and
west, and create a new society based on trust and harmony." In other words, if we
stand on this "common position of humanity" there is nothing we cannot solve.
 I have no objection to this idea itself, but the problem lies in Soka Gakkai-Komeito's
 making such assertions as this.  Even as they deny the humanity and the human dignity
of those who are not members of Soka Gakkai, they bodly and publicly use such words!
 This is the reason we denounce the spiritual deception and abnormality of this group.
The term, "the middle-of-the-road politics" has been frequently used by the Democratic
 Socialist Party, but the problem is how does Soka Gakkai-Komeito evaluate the
Democratic Socialist Party?  President Ikeda, in an interview with Seicho Matsumoto,
 an author, perhaps with the DSP in mind, said the following:

"Before the war, they were either far left or far right, but never in the middle. In the
West, they are to the right, and to the left and in addition to these, in the middle. Af?er
the war, whenever we view the conflicts between conservatives and progressives, if we
 follow the lines of Hegel's dialectics, we cannot deny that the times demand a middle-
of-the-road politics; particularly our middle-of-the-road doctrine springs from among the
 people. This is endorsed by the the middle-of-the road philosophy of Buddhism, so
 therefore it is completely different from abstract and frivolous middle-of-the-road politics."
(Bungci Shunju, the February number of 1968)

So judging from these words of President Ikeda, as well as from Komeito's
 past statements, the Democratic Socialist Party is not a middle-of-the-road
 party but a go~between party.
Their concept of making the different thing of higher dimension which transcends
 contradictions, is not rare in Komeito, but common.
Utopians, have always envisioned such an idealistic society in some form or another.
 Among prewar right wing groups in Japan there were many people who espoused
such ideas, and we can remember vividly the dreams they had of a new world which
 transcended capitalism and socialism under direct Imperial rule.  There are similar
points in the ideas of the Nishida philosophy and the Tanabe philosophy and we
can say that the thought of Komeito has not made any progress from those philosophies.
 As a concept of the world or of society, we cannot but say that there is nothing unique
in it.  Even so, Komeito's economic policy is something like tern pura made of capitalism,
 seasoned with the so-called welfare policies of Great Britain and the Scandinavian
countries, and coated with religion and deep fried in a cooking oil called Soka Gakkai.
 I fear that because this has been cooked in such hot oil the outer coating will soon fall
off and oil has penetrated too much into the contents, and we will not be able to eat it.
As far as the contents are concerned, it is a policy which appeals to a portion of the
old middle class, and to the quasi- intelligentsia who are idealists and ambitious, but
 it lacks efficiency.