New political party based on religious cult floods Japanese election
The new religious movement Happy Science started a political party in May called the “Happiness Realization Party”, or HRP for short. Today the Japanese government announced figures which showed that Happiness fielded the most candidates of any party in the 2009 government elections. These figures are likely to be translated by American reporters sometime this evening or tomorrow. 2chan.us scoop! Must credit Shii/Kransom!
On this blog I previously covered the religious party New Komeito, managed by Nichirenist splinter group Soka Gakkai. New Komeito claims that it dissociated itself from Soka Gakkai in the early 1990s, although everyone knows this is not true. The HRP does not even attempt this sort of obfuscation. The party leader is Kyouko Ookawa, the wife of Happy Science founder Ryuuhou Ookawa, who is by the way not only the Cosmic Buddha but also God incarnate.
Happy Science is by far the funniest of Japan’s new religions.* Adherents believe that historical figures like Thomas Edison and Florence Nightingale, as well as Toyota founder Sakichi Toyoda, were actually angels descended from Heaven to save humankind, a concept the equate with the bodhisattva. This theology is explained brilliantly in the anime The Laws of Eternity, in which four happiness-minded teenagers go on a journey through the seven extra dimensions of the universe and converse with these people as well as figures from Atlantis and Greek mythology. (The Laws of Eternity may or may not be posted to Tokyo Toshokan next month with English subtitles. I couldn’t possibly tell you whether it is being illegally fansubbed at this very moment.)
A butsudan (home shrine) sold by Happy Science. Photo by Shii.
While Happy Science has an English Wikipedia article describing it in bland, whitewashed terms, Rick Ross has not archived any English articles about it, which is surprising considering its size. In its 20-year history it is mainly notable for having a “religious war” against Aum Shinrikyo, the infamous cult behind the Tokyo sarin gas attacks. The week before the gas attacks Happy Science members took to the street protesting the cult. The HRP as of yet has no Wikipedia articles or neutral coverage in English.
The figures released today show that while the LDP and DPJ were only able to field 287 and 267 candidates, respectively, HRP produced an astonishing 298 candidates, putting an HRP candidate on the ballot in 99% of Japan’s 300 constituencies. These were likely not chosen from experienced politicians but volunteered from Happy Science’s eager member base. HRP also fielded 45 candidates for the proportional offices (the mainstay of smaller parties like New Komeito), as opposed to 23 from LDP. The reaction on 2ch was a mixture of disbelief and “we surrender to our overlord Ryuuhou Ookawa”.
A little background for the completely confused: Japan has been run by a one-party system for most of its postwar history. It was expected that the ruling LDP would completely dissolve during this fall’s upcoming elections due to three consecutive failed governments, but the established opposition party DPJ was hit by a corruption scandal that led to the resignation of the party leader. As New Komeito is roundly disliked by most Japanese and the Communist Party is too radical for some, this left an opening for a new political party.
I guess I should start a “shinshuukyou/new religions” category at this blog. I don’t watch much anime and I don’t go to cons but I follow Japanese religion very closely. Before you ask, I’m not going to start my own blog because attracting readers to a religion blog is mendoi.
* With the possible exception of the Pana Wave Laboratory. Those guys were NUTS.
July 23rd, 2009 at 10:30 pm
It’s a fringe party for sure, but I don’t think it will pose a significant threat to the LDP or DPJ. Voters tend to stick to their guns when it comes to polling; old political parties, like habits, die hard. If anything, it will probably just swing to the DPJ.
Then again, as you mentioned, the LDP has more or less been in power all the time since the war. I’m no expert on Japanese politics, so you might be right that this new party — or, at least, some other smaller party — will cause an upset. Is the DPJ doing that poorly, though?
Either way, nice scoop.
July 24th, 2009 at 6:37 am
Mainichi Ryuuhou Ookawa ha Hustlin’ Shiterundaze
July 24th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
These guys can fuck right off.
Living in Japan you get used to obscenely loud political trucks driving around as some worthless Japanese politician says a bunch of generic shit that no one actually listens to, but I saw these fuckers once outside Ikebukuro’s west exit and they had the LOUDEST public address system I had EVER heard. Nearly deafening.
Not much happiness realization, there.
July 24th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Sean: If you stick around, I’m going to post about their platform next, which is the political equivalent of turning your speakers up to 11.
July 28th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
20th Century Boys?
July 29th, 2009 at 10:00 am
yeah, this is 友民党 fo’ reals.
I was biking through last weekend in Osaka when I saw one of their buildings. It just screamed ’scientology’ to me.
The next day, I get a pamphlet from them in my mailbox. For a split second I thought it was because someone saw me making an incredulous face at their building. Then they show up on metafilter. Should I be scared yet?
I really don’t want the virus that makes me bleed out of every pore in my body…
August 4th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
Just finished watching “The Laws of Eternity” and I must say I feel enlightened. Finally I know the TRUTH! Like, in reality Mother Theresa is a real hot angel chick and there are giant angel robots fighting evil mammoth in hell – I always knew mammoth were evil, I knew it! – and like, all good people are descendants from Atlantis… which sank because the gods were fed up with it’s corruption and degeneration. . . whoops.
August 24th, 2009 at 4:41 am
I looked into Happy Science teachings some more. Actually, I thought their teachings made more sense than any other religion I know. I like their ‘Principles of Happiness’ based on the ‘four-fold path’ of ‘Love,’ Wisdom,’ ‘Self Reflection,’ and ‘Progress’ and I really like the concept that this Earth is a training ground for the soul and we reincarnate at intervals between this world and the spirit world for the purpose of training and developing the soul. Makes sense to me and if people all over the world believed this it would definitely be a better world.
August 24th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Steve: I’ve laid out all the funny bits here, so if you like it despite all that, I’m sure their centers in New York/San Francisco would be happy for you to visit with no obligations.
December 16th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
They endlessly sell books, tapes, seminars, prayers and all. This is how it’s done in japan or I should say japanese people. I MEAN ENDLESS. I remember how they sold picture of Okawa framed in gold for thousands of dollars. Free meditation seminar in your city? Seems like they don’t have the guts to demand money from non japanese but they get very pushy with the japanese. I’ve actually heard him say in one of the member only dvds “Love me more than you husband or wife or children or mom or dad” RELATIONSHIP CONTROL! In another one of those dvds, they actually made a suggestion in the line of fortune that you have comes from god, so it should be given back to god (okawa) and they were featuring this one family that donated a property that’s been in the family for generations and saying how this was better than leaving it to their children or grandchildren. SCARY–they are so after your money. And once you get caught in this they’ll mind control your money out of you by saying things like, it’s a miracle to be here when he’s here, and a rare opportunity in your many reincarnations to be able to make donations and they’ll come up with all types of various offerings possible to the point that every call or email that you get from them is about another offering and I’m not talking about tens and twentys but hundreds and even thousands of dollars. They’re trying to open up more branches here and I think they are taking advantage of the fact that people here can’t read what’s being said or written about them in google japan in japanese. There are lot of people and ex staff out there regretting the time and money spent on them and or trying to get their family out of it. And I think people here are vulnerable because of this recession and all. France officially identified them as a cult which I think is a smart move and wish authority here would really check them out and do the same. They have all the signs of a cult. If I don’t like it so much, why don’t I just stay away? Well what if you have some simple and gullible relatives or family members that you love and needs to be protected? I am very FED UP.
One last thing, what’s in their books sound like they make a lot of sense because they’re based on legitimate religion and spiritual people that existed in the past.
December 16th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Hi Kari, what you’ve written sounds very interesting. I would love to hear more about testimonies from ex-Kofuku members, as I don’t know how to find the Japanese blogs. Let me know if you want to relate these stories in full.
December 18th, 2009 at 3:42 pm
Hi Shii, thanks for reading. Well, I don’t have much more to say….but here are some more though.
He’s made predictions in the past that fell far short of reality. The most notable, I’m sure a lot of ex-members can remember, is END OF THE WORLD IN 1999 which probably served to put end of world pressure (another cult tactic) prior to 99. Well, we’re all still here…. The most recent one was during the election back in August, where a Happy Science nominee Soken Kobayashi claimed during his campaigne that Yosano Kaoru is going to die within 6 months of the election. Now everybody out in Japan heard about this one, and it’s on youtube too. Well, it’s been almost 4 months and I know the man is well alive. But why would somebody as grand as “Father of all Souls?” and his followers subject an individual to such humility and pain? As far as to blurt it out during the campaigne?
Then I came across their promotional material for the movie they released with a phrase, “when the world sinks into darkness Buddha is reborn…” but this is not the first time in very recent history when certain parts of the world fell into darkness. Since the Soviet empire collapsed back in the 90s, the former Soviet countries been going through tough times with rising unemployment, crime, mafia and all probably worse than here. Where was Buddha then? Yeah, the great consciousness of the universe probably couldn’t get past the communist red tape. Haha.
I think some of his books make great self help books but to go far as to say “the great counciousness of the universe?” with all of the above shortcomings is going a bit too far.
Reincarnation, soul training, and Atlantis, other spiritual people have talked about it in the past. Edgar Cayce talked about this 100 years ago in this country. So if you decide to dip your toe into it, do it with your eyes wide open.
December 18th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Wow, I totally did not know that Happy Science had an end-of-the-world prophecy for 1999. I haven’t seen that anywhere before, even in critical articles. It’s kind of similar to the Jehovah’s Witnesses who promised the apocalypse in 1979 then totally wrote it out of their history by 1980.
December 18th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Err, I meant 1975. Anyway, thank you for your story!!