Soka Gakkai chief Akiya to step down (2006・１１・１０)
Friday, Nov. 10, 2006
Soka Gakkai chief Akiya to step down
Kyodo News
Soka Gakkai, Japan's largest lay Buddhist organization and main support group for New Komeito, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's junior coalition partner, on Thursday replaced its president, Einosuke Akiya, with Minoru Harada, vice general director of the group.
Harada, 65, will serve a term through Nov. 18, 2011, as head of the Tokyo-based group, which claims membership at 8.27 million households in Japan, Soka Gakkai said.
Akiya, 76, decided to resign to rejuvenate the group's leadership ahead of the House of Councilors election and local elections next year, political sources said.
As the main support base for New Komeito, Soka Gakkai has a major influence on the organization's personnel and policy matters.
Akiya has been Soka Gakkai president since 1981. In July, he was elected to his sixth consecutive five-year term.
The religious group's No. 2 figure, General Director Toru Aoki, 76, also resigned, the group said. Masaaki Masaki, 52, currently the men's division chief, replaced Aoki.
Soka Gakkai's third president, Daisaku Ikeda, 78, is president of Soka Gakkai International and is widely regarded as the group's supreme leader.
The leadership reshuffle follows the change in leadership made by New Komeito in September, when Akihiro Ota succeeded Takenori Kanzaki as president and Kazuo Kitagawa replaced Tetsuzo Fuyushiba as secretary general. After being elected Soka Gakkai president in 1981, Akiya took control of the group's administrative affairs and supported New Komeito in national and local-level polls.
After New Komeito joined a coalition with the LDP in 1999, Akiya helped both entities garner votes in several elections. In recent campaigns, Soka Gakkai is believed responsible for as many as 9 million votes.
The Japan Times
(C) All rights reserved
Soka Gakkai chief Akiya to step down
Kyodo News
Soka Gakkai, Japan's largest lay Buddhist organization and main support group for New Komeito, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's junior coalition partner, on Thursday replaced its president, Einosuke Akiya, with Minoru Harada, vice general director of the group.
Harada, 65, will serve a term through Nov. 18, 2011, as head of the Tokyo-based group, which claims membership at 8.27 million households in Japan, Soka Gakkai said.
Akiya, 76, decided to resign to rejuvenate the group's leadership ahead of the House of Councilors election and local elections next year, political sources said.
As the main support base for New Komeito, Soka Gakkai has a major influence on the organization's personnel and policy matters.
Akiya has been Soka Gakkai president since 1981. In July, he was elected to his sixth consecutive five-year term.
The religious group's No. 2 figure, General Director Toru Aoki, 76, also resigned, the group said. Masaaki Masaki, 52, currently the men's division chief, replaced Aoki.
Soka Gakkai's third president, Daisaku Ikeda, 78, is president of Soka Gakkai International and is widely regarded as the group's supreme leader.
The leadership reshuffle follows the change in leadership made by New Komeito in September, when Akihiro Ota succeeded Takenori Kanzaki as president and Kazuo Kitagawa replaced Tetsuzo Fuyushiba as secretary general. After being elected Soka Gakkai president in 1981, Akiya took control of the group's administrative affairs and supported New Komeito in national and local-level polls.
After New Komeito joined a coalition with the LDP in 1999, Akiya helped both entities garner votes in several elections. In recent campaigns, Soka Gakkai is believed responsible for as many as 9 million votes.
The Japan Times
(C) All rights reserved
