Soka University’s TV commercial has become a controversial topic among media insiders and politicians.

Soka Gakkai boosts advertising on TV

Soka Gakkai, a religious organization that originated from Nichiren Buddhism in 1930 and is closely associated with the coalition New Komeito party, is now boosting its TV advertising.

Soka Gakkai has sponsored programs on local TV and radio stations as well as advertised itself in magazines for a long time. On Oct 4, a TV commercial of Soka University, Soka Gakkai’s affiliated organization, was aired as a sponsor for Fuji TV’s news and sports program “Live 2008 News & Sports!” One of the program’s production staff said, “It was the first time that Soka Gakkai’s TV commercial appeared on a nationwide major TV network and appeared as a sponsor for a news program. It was good timing for them at a time when the general election was expected to be held that week.”

The ad for Soka University is not just being aired during programs that Soka Gakkai sponsors but also during programs on other networks, such as NTV, for example.

A politician of the Demcratic Party of Japan said, “For the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, which form the government, support from Soka Gakkai members is essential. I think the TV ad campaign is aimed at bringing them together for the next election.”

A spokesperson for Soka Gakkai said, “In general, students tend to decide which universities to apply to in the autumn. That’s why we broadcast the TV commercial in early October. It had nothing to do with any election strategy.”

A spokesperson for Fuji explained that Soka University is officially approved as an educational institution by the government. “There’s no problem with broadcasting their TV commercial.” Meanwhile, an NTV spokesperson said: “We screen TV commercials based on the guidelines shared by other commercial broadcasters.” One insider speculated that Soka University possibly paid 100 million yen to Fuji TV for the commercial.

Although Fuji TV and NTV say there is nothing wrong with broadcasting Soka University’s TV commercials, media professor Takaaki Hattori at Rikkyo University pointed out: “It’s not problematic at all for the university to have TV commercials. But being a sponsor for a news program is questionable. While TV stations are currently suffering from decline in advertising revenue, they should remember they are news organizations and be careful about accepting sponsorships from political parties. Otherwise, their stance toward politics will be called into question by viewers.” (Translated by Taro Fujimoto)

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Latest 15 of 64 Total Comments Show All

nishikat at 01:51 AM JST - 6th November

"...Vice-General Director McCloskey tells the mass media that the SGI-USA has 350,000 believers, but recently, he admitted to a certain group of people that the actual number of members is close to 20,000..."

Look above. There are not 300,000 members in USA. I'm from USA and before I came to Japan I had no knowledge of SG at all. Scientology has around 55,000 members (really) in USA and people know them. But SGI-USA with "300,000" members and hardly anyone knows them? Do you really want to argue there are that many members in USA?

Also, 12 million members in Japan is about 10% of the population. I don't think so. I have met more people here going to Christian church than SGI so that number is really inflated. I can't believe that for every 10 random people I meet in Japan one will be SG.

Is Mr Ikeda really that great with all these awards? It seems if you play the game right and have enough power you can make yourself look good and get all kinds of awards and respect even if you don't really deserve it. I mean Tom Cruise says Scientology is great. And Ted Haggard used to meet GWB regularly in the White House until he was busted out by a gay hooker. Hell, it seems Osama Bin Laden had the support of the US at one time. Also, Saddam Hussein.
himanshu at 03:14 PM JST - 7th November

It's not about the show of strength but about what values are being spread in society. Even if there are a few thousands or just hundreds, but important is what contribution are they making to the communities we live in. The power of Mr. Ikeda that every one talks about is actually the power of ordinary people who have awakened to their own potential to overcome various hardships and now as responsible citizens are contributing to their communities. I am sure you must have heard a lot of experiences of SG members, if someone doesn’t believe is a different matter. Though everyone talks about the great riches, but has anyone seen how are these utilized – culture centers where people can meet and inspire each other, research institutes to deepen understanding about various issues affecting humanity, exchange programs transcending borders to bridge bonds amongst people, organizing relief activities when some disaster strikes (none of these are profit centres). These initiatives that matters the most to people and are so crucial for a sustainable future are taken for granted or ignored and all scandalous and spicy news that are mostly partial truth becomes the headlines of the tabloids. The greatest strength of SGI and its members is their strong belief in the human spirit and that is exactly what has brought change to America also – spirit of not giving up, the spirit of “Yes we can”.
DerekTrotter at 03:21 PM JST - 7th November

himanshu- It's called brainwashing pal.
isthistheend at 09:55 PM JST - 11th November

Don't say anything bad about SG or DI. They are both cherished by as mentioned 12 M people here. I used to have a good friend who made tofu who still is a devoted SG member. They are very kind people and dedicated to their craft. I don't think ALL SG people are pushy, just that sometime, somewhere in a conversation the topic will come up. Its what they live and breath, just like say "JESUS" people (devoted Christians) or Muslims etc.

But as has been mentioned above, for those of us who are NOT SG followers, don't expect to have level playing ground in a conversation about the faith. We are not them, they are not we. Sort of similar to ware ware vs gaijin syndrdome when you think about it.
Sarge at 10:03 PM JST - 11th November

zurcronium - "If it walks like a cult, and it talks like a cult, it is a cult."

Except that the Gakkai doesn't walk or talk like a cult. Calling the Gakkai a cult is like calling the Vatican a cult. Aum Shinrikyu is a cult. Like comparing apples and oranges.
slizzer at 12:29 PM JST - 12th November

Greetings. I am Commander Gakkai. Please come and join my army of religious crazies.
BeTheChange at 12:32 PM JST - 12th November

I love how the critics of SGI, love to promote SGI on every website they can find.
nishikat at 10:11 PM JST - 12th November

Who keeps thinking there are that many SG members? According to Wikipedia SG "claims" 13M worldwide and 10M in Japan alone. I really don't think so. Let's break this down. I estimate there are about 200 people living in my condo bldg. 8% of that is about 16. There are NOT 16 SG members living in my building. I've lived here for almost 10 years and I would know. Also I work in several public schools. Each school has around 25-30 staff total. That means for each school I work at there are 1~3 co-workers who are SG. Again NO!!! This is about as credible as claiming Dr. Ikeda is a great world peace leader.

Religion? Cult? It's up to anyone to decide. But whatever you want to call them they are ANNOYING. No, not all of them. But enough of them to conclude that SG itself is an annoying organization that encourages its followers to do annoying things.

I challenge anyone to ask Japanese people you know well (non SGs) their opinion of SG and most of the responses will be negative. I had a private student who is a licensed accountant said something to the effect that (but he said it's something he shouldn't say publicly) the members are not so educated, compared to the general population. Another student who said she knew several SGs (or children of them) in her school and as soon as she turned 20 she was ANNOYINGLY contacted by her former SG classmates for voting. She really got pissed off. Again, they do stuff like that.
Antonios_M at 02:14 AM JST - 18th November

Except that the Gakkai doesn't walk or talk like a cult. Calling the Gakkai a cult is like calling the Vatican a cult. Aum Shinrikyu is a cult. Like comparing apples and oranges.

I wouldn't even say that SG is a "cult" of a certain religion. It's more like a lay organization with political approach.
himanshu at 04:12 PM JST - 19th November

ANNOYING is a very subjective word. Even parents can be ANNOYING for constantly asking child to study harder, but it doesn't mean they are thinking bad about their children. It is just a matter of sharing one's belief based on personal experience of deriving joy from some activity. If there are so many people talking about it there has to be something substantial otherwise in today's time no one has time or likes to deliberately ANNOY other and face their wrath and exclusion from society. Any organisation which supports only rich or only poor or any particular community would be a communist and closed organisation. However that is not the case with SGI as there are poor people, rich people, highly qualified scholars, not so educated people, people from different regions and cultures. What is common is that all are trying to change their lives for better and those who are getting results share it with others. Is anything wrong in it? Since there are many people who have seen results, that's why so many talk about it.
bible36 at 09:38 AM JST - 25th November

SG is obviously very dodgey. I`ve met several members who all share the same characteristics of being cold and selfish with a friendly facade.They appear to have been brain washed. Recruiters hang around in oncology departments offering hope to the desperate and then robbing them of their life savings.SG funerals are bizarre to say the least.
jmarc at 07:37 PM JST - 25th November

well i know several SG members from Kansei and they are friendly and cheerfull. Not at all cold or selfish has some would like to see them. But true some think there organisation is a sect. They are classified like that in France.
himanshu at 08:05 PM JST - 25th November

The above accusations are all completely baseless and have been thoroughly refuted and proved false many times earlier also. The values and activities of SG is based on respect of all life and the members of SG live in society as responsible citizens. Its just that the initiatives to help others is misunderstood as some kind of drive to "recruit". If SG were such a dodgey organisation, why would scholars all over the world look forward to the advancement of activities and philosophy of SG. Nelson Madela has twice come to Japan to meet SG president and its members and praised their efforts despite such criticism. British Historian Arnold Toynbee has published a book with SG President hoping for a better world. Ex-Soviet president, Mikhail Gorbachev has requested for a dialogue with SG President regarding concerns over humanity in the 21st century. Recently Indonesian president Abdurrahman Wahid expressed his desire to hold dialogue with SG. Other important people who have praised SG for its efforts are: renowned scientist Linus Pauling, Economist John Galbraith, American Revolutionist Rosa Parks, and many other social workers and Nobel Prize winners have endorsed the values and philosophy of SG. Even Japan Times acknowledged the contribution of SG to community and published a series of articles by SG President concerning various issues faced by society. Either all these people are great fools or we need to get rid of prejudiced views which is mainly created by irresponsible publications.
bdiego at 08:01 AM JST - 26th November

Wow, exact same arguments used by other cults. You don't do a good job of defending it.
himanshu at 03:18 PM JST - 26th November

A "cult" keeps itself confined within a protective cocoon. SG on the other hand is mainly criticised for its active involvement in addressing various social issues. A "cult" is suppossed to be harmful for its members and community. SG on the contrary has contributed to the welfare of the people and development of the community.