July 2009 to July 2010 - Religion and Politics in Contemporary Japan - page 187

members ' engagement in order to be able to explain the merits of Komeito ' s

policies.
However, it is di cult to say to what extent young people actually weighed

up the pros and cons comparing the policies they were advocating by reading
up on views other than those presented in the Komei Shinbun or by Komeito.
My observations tell me that many young people do not read many news-
papers outside the literature provided by Soka Gakkai. Nevertheless, perhaps
they were retrieving more information from the internet than at rst met the

eye, as many of them when calling their friends could be heard to have a
reasonable grasp of other parties

ered and
deserved support. To have these conversations they needed to be aware of the
more general political issues. On the other hand, that active Soka Gakkai
members

' policies and where Komeito di

find Komeito policies attractive is not surprising. Komeito ' is political

agenda and policies re ect the broader value framework of their supporters

which arise from Ikeda s interpretation of Nichiren Buddhism. Komeito

policies appeal to the Soka Gakkai membership because they grow up in an
environment where caring about human rights including improving welfare
and looking after weaker members of society, raising awareness about edu-
cation, peace and better environmental protection become natural to being a
Soka Gakkai member. Such issues were discussed and promoted in their var-
ious social activities outside canvassing for Komeito, such as through exhibitions
on human rights, nuclear disarmament or the importance of environmental
protection. They also clearly learn to think that without collective action, it is
di

'

cult to address many wider societal problems.

Young supporters in Okinawa in 2009

I was able to follow the election activities of Soka Gakkai members in Oki-
nawa for six weeks leading up to the August 2009 Lower House election and
again leading up to the 2010 Upper House election (discussed in the next
section). In 2009, I in particular attended the Student Division (SD) and the
Young Women

s Division (YWD) meetings in Naha and Urazoe, respectively,
and observed and talked to them about their election activities. The SD con-
sisted of young university students, most of them studying at one of the uni-
versities in Okinawa, but there were also students who studied outside the
prefecture and who were home for the summer. The age ranged from 19 to
23. The YWD consisted of young women, mostly in their twenties, some in
their early thirties and two in their early forties, who were all unmarried and
working. They had gathered to talk about the election. The SD gatherings
were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 am to around 12:30 pm, with
a few people often staying until later in the afternoon chatting, studying and
making the occasional call to their friends to talk to them about the election.
The YWD gathered for the whole day on Saturdays and Sundays, and most
evenings during the week. Meetings always began with daimoku. This was
followed by a discussion in which people introduced themselves (as there were

'