Nichiren, Soka Gakkai and Komeito - Religion and Politics in Contemporary Japan - page 60

(1975), Toda had talked about seeking Diet approval for a national high
sanctuary, but from 1964, the year Komeito was established, until 1970 there
was a return to the use of people s high sanctuary (minshuritsu kaidan), or the

term Nichiren used, honmon no kaidan. I have pointed out the di

'

culty of
viewing this political involvement from the point of view of the kokuritsu
kaidan being the main political objective, as argued by Nishiyama, but Soka
Gakkai must have been under increasing pressure to respond to the media s

interpretation of such terms. So while Komeito never stated this as a political
objective, and it is hard to argue that this was ever the main objective of Soka
Gakkai, it nevertheless had to publicly denounce such ideas to clarify its
position.
This was not so easily dismissed in the public sphere and Soka Gakkai and
Komeito, as discussed in detail in the next section, were under increased
public pressure to relinquish the use of the term - butsumy - g - . In 1970, in the
wake of allegations that Soka Gakkai

'

s aim was to establish Nichiren Sh - sh -
as the state religion, complicated by the calls from some factions within the
priesthood to establish a national high sanctuary, and coupled with Soka
Gakkai

'

s rapid progress, it gave rise to further public conten-
tion. This concept to outsiders clearly entailed the idea of establishing a
kokuritsu kaidan. Indeed, a right-wing but marginal division, the My - shink - ,
within Nichiren Sh - sh - was advocating this and the establishment of Nichi-
ren Sh - sh - as a state religion. Even a small faction within Soka Gakkai was
of the same belief. The strong public tension rising over its increasing political
power was re

' s and Komeito '

'

ected in Soka Gakkai s May 1970 public statement:

1) Soka Gakkai aims at k - sen-rufu (to spread and make known the
Buddhist Law). It is a Buddhist cultural movement; political advance-
ment in and of itself is not its purpose. 2) Soka Gakkai has long opposed
the Nichiren Sh - sh - demand that Nichiren Buddhism become the state
religion and will continue to oppose it. 3) The Komeito exists for the
welfare of the public. It has no part in Soka Gakkai ' s religious activities

or e orts to win people to the faith. Soka Gakkai is, however, one of

Komeito s supporting organisations and will uphold it in elections. 4) In

order to make clear

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erence between the two organisations
Komeito members of national and local assemblies will be removed from
Soka Gakkai administrative posts.

the di

(cited in Nakano 1996: 127)

According to Soka Gakkai, with this renewed institutional separation,
Komeito could get on with e ecting change in the political realm, a place that

necessitated compromise, while Soka Gakkai could continue to work for
world peace based on its own ideals (Nakaue interviews with author 2003

-
04). 16 Yet, lingering doubts about the nature of their relationship continued.
For instance, membership fees and donations from individuals and small
businesses fund Komeito, but still the wider perception is that Soka Gakkai ' s