The Soka Gakkai was then little more than a Buddhist-equivalent of the Salvation Army.

ECONOMIST: Japan

Mr Obuchi is known to have close personal contacts with the Einosuke Akiya, the Soka Gakkai's boss.

ECONOMIST: Japan

He built the Soka Gakkai into the power it is today.

ECONOMIST: Japan

Many people are uneasy about a party with ties to religious organizations - in this case, Komeito is linked to the controversial Buddhist Soka Gakkai - being in government.

CNN: Taking Over

After the war, the group transformed itself into a lay religious organisation, adopting the name Soka Gakkai (Value-Creation Society), and embracing the faith of the 700-year-old Nichiren Shoshu sect.

ECONOMIST: Japan

He should really have been more respectful of New Komeito's main sponsor, the Soka Gakkai, whose founder, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, was imprisoned during the war because of his opposition to state-sponsored Shintoism.

ECONOMIST: Japan: Sorry Mori | The

Few demands, other than pecuniary ones, are made on Soka Gakkai's followers, who are taught to attain enlightenment and prosperity through chanting sacred phrases handed down from a 13th-century monk called Nichiren.

ECONOMIST: Japan