The Seven Damning Sins of Soka Gakkai-Komeito

The Sin Of Helping The Strong And Oppressing The Weak

The seventh sin may be expressed by the words, helping the
 strong and oppressing the weak.
Although they make use of such expressions as: "Komeito,
 The Friend of the Common People" or "Komeito, Everyone's
Party," when we examine the contents, we find that these are
strongly tinged with authoritarianism.  They help the strong and
oppress the weak - this above all is Soka Gakkai's special
character.  This is for me the unavoidable conclusion. Toward
the weak they are thoroughly aggressive, and toward the strong
 they are extremely flexible.
When Soka Gakkai was growing into prominence, the police
news pages carried frequent accounts of their violent shakubuku
 activities.  Critical and accusing articles which dealt with their
 fundamental teachings as well as their actions, used to appear
 frequently, however in last few years, this sort of criticism of
Soka Gakkai has disappeared and today it is most difficult
to fipd any criticism, even if you search for it. Instead publications
of Soka Gakkai appeared in the world.  In addition, laudatory
coniments and books are brought out. It is a surprising matter that
 since such books and articles are recommended by Soka Gakkai
 they have a good sale. People appeared who wanted to use Soka
 Gakkai to earn money, also because there is strong pressure toward
 the publication of others, the mass media, desiring to avoid their
pressure, takes the line of least resistance.  This is a serious problem
of the present-day mass media.  The political world is working
 to get Soka Gakkai votes, the financial world is concerned about
 Soka Gakkai's money, and the bankers are working hard to get
 their enormous funds deposited in their banks. A notable example
of how all parties and all candidates had a tendency to visit Soka
 Gakkai frequently, and cringe, seeking to use their influence and
power, is to be found in the Tokyo Governor's election of 1963.
Botht he Liberal Democratic Party and the Socialist Party and
both Ryutaro Azuma's camp and Masaru Sakamoto's camp put
forth great effort to obtain the support of Soka Gakkai. Eventually
  Komeito  (then Komei Seiji Renmei-Clean Government League)
 supported Azuma, but suspicions of some sort  of a shady deal
arose.   Komeito, which advocates purification of the political world,
assisted those who were violating the elections laws, and they oppressed
 the weak opposition.  In this election, the whole of Soka Gakkai's ability,
attitudes, and opinions was revealed.  It is no exaggeration to say that
 their attitude at this time raised serious doubts in the minds of the people,
 not only of Tokyo, but of the nation as well.
Once Komeito supported Azuma, as a matter of course, they had to
 assume political responsibility for his election. In politics, the individual's
personal opinions aside, the re- sponsiblity for the objective results must be
 carried.
After the false certificate stamps (the certificate stamp is one which s
hows the public permission to display an election poster) were placed before
 the public, Soka Gakkai made excuses:
"since Soka Gakkai is a religious body we have no political responsibility,"
 but such an attitude proves that they have no qualifications to even talk
politics.  Political responsibility means assuming full responsibility for the
 results.  If they neglect their responsiblity for the results, and take an
attitude of "we don't know, since we are a religious body," we should
say that it is nonsense to entrust responsiblity to such a party.
At any rate, as was revealed in the method of operation of the
Liberal Democratic Party in the Tokyo Governor's Election, if
either an aggressive attitude or an humble attitude is skillfully taken
 toward Komeito and their pride and their bluff is promoted, they
seem to yield to any party, and such operations are frequently used,
 because all parties want Soka Gakkai votes.
They all would like to criticize Komeito, but on the other hand, they
 want their organization's votes, so all of the other parties are in an
awkward position.  Accordingly, even though these parties are natural
 competitors, and strictly speaking should compete with Komeito,
 they have the tendency to tone down their criticism.  In this respect,
we must say, the situation is very unusual. Each party has a conspicuous
 tendency toward having as many opportunities to have tactical business
 relationships and consultations with Soka Gakkai as possible by purposely
 taking the edge off their criticism of Komeito. The middle-of-the-road
 position and the vague policies of Komeito seems to be the place
 prepared for being used by the other parties, and they purposely make
 as many openings as possible.
In the Local Elections held in April of 1967, especially in the Election
for the Governor of Tokyo, the political maneuvering toward Komeito
 by other parties, as everyone knows, was very lively, and especially
 the activity of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Socialist Party was
conspicuous.  In Tokyo, Komeito was thought to hold the casting vote,
 so the Liberal Democratic Party and the Socialist Party desired to form
 a united front with Komeito. When Kaoru Ota, former Chairman of the
 General Council of Trade Unions of Japan, expressed his intention of
running for the Governorship of Tokyo, the reason the endorsement of
Komeito was conditional was that without their support he did not think
he could be elected.  It is also said that one of the reasons the Liberal
 Democratic Party decided to run the then Vice-Governor Shun'ichi,
Suzuki, though he was not a well-known figure, was that he was in
favor with the Komeito.  But in the end, neither the Liberal Democratic
Party nor the Socialist Party  were able to receive the full support of
 Komeito. As a result, Masatoshi Matsushita was put up by the joint
 recommendations of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic
 Socialist Party, and Ryokichi Minobe was supported by the Socialist
Party and the Communist Party.  As everyone knows Mr. Minobe
defeated  Matsushita.  Komeito put forward their own candidate,
Ken'ichi Abe and it is said there were three reasons behind this.