Quote
The Anticult
Take the example of the woman who gave $100,000, and lost everything to SGI-USA.
They sucked her dry.
That is literally money-vampirism.

The sad thing was, she was so proud and happy about what she had done, giving $100,000 to SGI. I just kept thinking, "What if she gets sick or injured, what if she loses her job and can't find another?" She will either struggle desperately on her own -- or the taxpayers will have to take care of her, through welfare or a homeless shelter. SGI will not lift a finger for her -- except for some leader coming around to give her the oh-so-helpful guidance. Repeat after me: "You need to chant more to show actual proof of this Buddhism."

There is their loophole right there, good grades ain't enough.
(wink wink) they get to subjectively judge who is for "peace and human rights", and SGI interferes and overules the faculty.

It seems that SGI has code words..."Peace" = Capitalism
Human Rights = SGI religious influence in politics.

Anne Houtman: (Assistant Dean and then Acting Dean of the Faculty), said
"Now, the students are well over 90% Soka Gakkai themselves"

So its clear, the students are over 90% SGI.
There are some reports online the students mainly spend their weekends at Soka University.
Its a place for a few hundred SGI students to attend, a chunk from overseas.

These SGI supreme leaders don't know much about Buddhism, but they sure know EVERYTHING about investing, real estate, capitalism, and mass persuasion.

In reality, Soka U is obviously primarily a tax-shelter that allows multibilliondollar tax-free investments. That is its real purpose.
Tax-free investing.
They have a billion invested, and they don't pay any taxes on it, or on the capital gains, etc.
So once the market returns to around a 10% return, they would made 100 million each year just from the investments, tax-free.
So it grows by hundreds of millions a year.

That is what its all about.
Capitalism, religion, and politics, mass persuasion, and not paying taxes.
SGI is really about raw worldly Power.

Quote

-----------Begin Quote: Soka University Website--------------------------------

Soka University seeks students of intelligence and commitment who will provide leadership in the promotion of peace and human rights.

Soka is open to highly motivated students of all backgrounds and beliefs who have excelled academically. Admission is competitive and selective. Although all successful applicants will have strong academic records, good grades and test scores are not enough by themselves for an applicant to be accepted.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2009 06:42AM by The Anticult.

And of course, there would be many other people like this, all over the world.

And also, some local SGI shills, could set something like this up as well, on orders from SGI head-office. Its like the TV evangelists, they have a shill, a little old granny who says she donated $10,000, and was blessed and cured.
Meanwhile, the little old granny, is a fake-shill who is paid by the TV evangelist! Happens all the time.

It would not be surprising in the least, if SGI set-up some shills to go around talking about how they gave $50K to SGI, to try and convince others to do the same. That is a classic social influence technique. Especially when the person says they "gave everything".
It makes others want to do the same thing.

Fringe church groups/cults do this all the time. They get people to cash in their insurance/health policies, and donate it to the church, for God Insurance. Then they get sick, and tough luck.
A little digging, and surely SGI-USA has some similar strategies.

SGI singles out wealthier SGI people, and gets them to sign onto monthly donations, automatic debit right from their bank account. Its good karma after all right? The more you give, the more you get?
(as if, the more you give, the more SGI gets, and the less you have).
The SGI global are financial (evil) geniuses.

Quote
tsukimoto

Quote
The Anticult
Take the example of the woman who gave $100,000, and lost everything to SGI-USA.
They sucked her dry.
That is literally money-vampirism.

The sad thing was, she was so proud and happy about what she had done, giving $100,000 to SGI. I just kept thinking, "What if she gets sick or injured, what if she loses her job and can't find another?" She will either struggle desperately on her own -- or the taxpayers will have to take care of her, through welfare or a homeless shelter. SGI will not lift a finger for her -- except for some leader coming around to give her the oh-so-helpful guidance. Repeat after me: "You need to chant more to show actual proof of this Buddhism."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2009 06:57AM by The Anticult.

Tsukimoto, the cost you quoted is quite reasonable nowdays for a private college. Many colleges are even more expensive! Public universities are quite a bit less. Tuition for the University of California, for example, is less than $10,000 per year, with living expenses/books/travel/fees about the same as the prices that you quoted. Tuition for foreign students at a private school (such as Soka University) would be the same as for non-foreign students. The difference is if the student attended a public university or college, then he would have to pay out-of-state fees (since he had not contributed to the college through taxes), so then his tuition might be as high as if he attended a private college.

I have known some members whose kids have gone to Soka University. It is true that they don't accept everyone, that the student has to have a certain GPA and test scores. They do give a lot of scholarships to the students, but not everyone, and it is very expensive for some to pay all of that money! (as it is for anyone to go to college nowdays!!)

A few years ago my daughter was loking for and applying to colleges. She was given some pressure from "senior leaders" to go to Soka University. I, too, was told by leaders that she should go there because she would get such a great, humanistic education. Fortunately, she had no interest in it, and my husband and I were skeptical of it also. (We had begun to hear of the problems they had with unhappiness among faculty who were not SGI and lawsuits. We had also heard about some grumbling among students, and how some students dropped out.) So she went to another (much better!) school. Some parents really want their kids to go to Soka Uniiversity. We have known members that are bound and determined to have their kids go there, whether the student wants to or not!

Soka University has conferences for middle-school and high-school age kids called "lion's roar". These conferences are for a whole weekend, and the kids stay in the dorms and have a good time. During this weekend, the "seed is planted" that they should go to Soka University.

Quote
The Anticult
SGI singles out wealthier SGI people, and gets them to sign onto monthly donations, automatic debit right from their bank account. Its good karma after all right? The more you give, the more you get?
(as if, the more you give, the more SGI gets, and the less you have).
The SGI global are financial (evil) geniuses.

According to mombu.com, SGI has done this routinely in Japan since 1985...had donations deducted from members' bank accounts. It seems, that when members gave cash donations to their leaders, too many yen got stuck to the leaders' fingers. I guess when these leaders were told they should be more like President Ikeda....they really did try to be like President Ikeda, including helping themselves to the members' money.

Soka University does some interesting things for fundraising. (Soka University's website, Giving section) There was a tale of an elderly widow who had a bunch of stock. She transferred it to Soka University in exchange for fixed annuity payments. Soka gets her stock, she gets monthly payments. This enabled her to avoid the capital gains tax, and get a tax deduction.

Another story told of a law professor who had an IRA of $100,000. He'd reached the age where he had to start taking money from his IRA. Congress passed legislation that individuals 70 and a half or older can gift up to $100,000 per person to a charity, and this sum will not be included in their taxable income. So he gave his IRA to Soka, for tax reduction. (If you have this kind of money, maybe it's worth it to you to do something like this.) Maybe that's what SGI was lobbying for -- this kind of legislation.

And what's with $100,000? That figure just keeps coming up again and again for SGI.

The third story was about a man who was terminally ill. Apparently, he was speaking with his old friend, Eric Hauber, who, interestingly enough, also works for Soka University. I believe Eric actually works in the finance, or donations section of Soka U too. Eric and his wife, Theresa, are also senior SGI leaders -- or were, for many years. Theresa is a real True Believer; a friend of mine had an intense argument with her about the SGI/Nichiren Shoshu split. My friend said, "Damn, the woman was so mad at me -- just for suggesting that the priests were human! I thought she was gonna deck me!"

Anyway, Theresa and Eric persuaded their friend to leave his estate to Soka University. Apparently Theresa can be nice when she wants to be. The estate is invested, so that the interest will provide scholarships to students, while leaving the principal intact.

I don't know what this all means. Surely other universities would do these kinds of things too? After all, universities always need money; running one is expensive. But then again, you can also argue that having your own university is a good cover for all kinds of financial dealings, since universities are always fundraising, spending, dispersing, investing, and soliciting large sums of money, and have ways of avoiding taxes.

are their also publications on the web chritical of SGI that would withstand academic standards?
I am asking since this info would be realy helpful. Some recources like Wikipedia will not accept forums as a valid source of information. I wih the press would pay attention to thos forum as it gives useful links and raises issues that would be worth a second look.

Rothaus, you make an interesting point. We have a lot of great information in this thread. Certainly, people looking online for information about SGI will find it ... but how to get it out to the general public?

It's interesting how widely known the Soka Gakkai's tax evasion and influence on Japanese elections seems to be. It's been known for years. Michio Watanabe gave this speech in 1993! And yet nothing seems to have been done about it, possibly because of the Soka Gakkai/Komeito Party's affiliation with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Will anything be done now that the LDP's rival, the Democratic Party of Japan has recently come into power? SGI certainly has the wealth to buy themselves out of all kinds of trouble. Unfortunately.

And it's interesting that they even have the legal status of religious corporation. Nichiren Shoshu, and its temples had that legal status -- but it's unusual for a group of lay believers to apply for and be designated a religious corporation. They got that in 1952, and became tax-exempt -- and then began cranking up their recruitment and donations. What a plan!


-----Begin Quote---------------Cult Awareness and Information Center--------www.culthelp.info-------- December 9, 1993-----------------------------------

This announcement burst forth when Michio Watanabe was introduced at a lecture meeting held in Tokyo last November 26, a lecture meeting sponsored by the Japanese Commentators Association.

He said, "If, in the general election, Soka Gakkai uses its money to distribute Komeito votes among the Social Democratic Party and Shinseito (Rebirth Party), I will not remain silent. Until now, in order to receive support for LDP bills in the Diet, the LDP has looked the other way and has covered up Soka Gakkai tax evasions and what not, but now it will no longer do so. If the Soka Gakkai says that it will work with other parties to bring down the LDP, I will not remain silent..."

In short, he stated that during the LDP administrations, in order to make an ally of Komeito, the LDP looked the other way in regards to the actions of Komeito's backer, the Soka Gakkai, and covered up Soka Gakkai tax evasions, but in the next election, if Soka Gakkai sets its funds and people into motion for the sake of the Social Democratic Party and Shinseito, instead of just Komeito, he will not remain silent. It appeared to be a shot leveled at Soka Gakkai more than at Komeito.

There would be no more scandalous announcement than if the political parties currently in power conducted a cover-up of a religious body's tax evasion. It is thought that Michio Watanabe, a former Vice Prime Minister, spoke with extraordinary resolution.

Overhearing Michio Watanabe's speech, a Gakkai observer said, "The Soka Gakkai is an extremely unusual religious group. As a religious association, they were originally nothing more than a group of Nichiren Shoshu believers. Nichiren Shoshu itself is a religious corporation certified by the Education Ministry, and each of its branch temples is a religious corporation. However, Soka Gakkai also applied to theTokyo Bureau's Administration Guidance Department in 1952 and received certification as a religious corporation. Usually, groups of believers do not become religious corporations. Even though there are three essential prerequisites to becoming a religious corporation, that is, a doctrine, a spiritual head or founder, and believers, a religious group (by definition) has only believers. It is a puzzle as to why they received recognition as a religious corporation. One theory is that after the war, GHQ in no time promoted the freedom of religion, so they took advantage of the confusion of the moment.

Nevertheless, after becoming a religious corporation, they became tax exempt, with no need to report revenue and expenditures to anyone. Before anyone knew it, they increased their believers through intense shakubuku, and they turned into an enormous money collection machine with a nationwide system which collected money through donations which they refer to as zaimu. Recently, though they have separated from their Head Temple in a dispute, they are still recognized as a religious corporation just like before.

Even now, the donations they collect from their general believers exceed $2 billion a year. Apart from that, they acquire $3 billion a year in donations collected under the name of 'kofu fund,' as well as revenue from huge cemetaries they operate in 6 locations throughout the country, and proceeds from Seikyo Shinbun and other auxilliary enterprises. This is all tax exempt.

Their savings are tremendous. Just their real estate alone is valued at $100 billion, and cash in the form of stocks is $3 billion. Aside from that, it is said that there are hidden funds known only to Honorary President Daisaku Ikeda totaling $20 billion. This is a religious group which has become problematic in regards to whether or not they really are a religious corporation."
-----------------------------End of Quote------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2009 05:06AM by tsukimoto.

------------------------Begin Quote, Cult Awareness and Information Center, Michio Watanabe's 1993 Speech Continued------------------------------------

(Proposed tax audit of Soka Gakkai Japan) The first time was conducted during the age of the Kakuei Tanaka cabinet, but Daisaku Ikeda and Kakuei were on intimate terms, and it is the accepted opinion among Gakkai observers that Kakuei put pressure on the National Tax Administration Agency and had the audit halted before it was concluded.

The second time was just recently, covering the short period from the latter half of 1990 and carrying over into 1991. Data Audit Section Six (a department which specializes in auditing non-profit foundations and special corporations) of the Tokyo Regional Tax Administration Bureau said they started the audit. In actuality, this second audit was not only started, but it was an important and anticipated audit.

At any rate, in the summer of the previous year (1989), the preposterous "Safe Incident" occurred, in which a Soka Gakkai safe containing 170 million yen ($1.2 million, according to the exchange rates of the time) was discarded in a trash dump in Yokohama. It will be remembered that the Soka Gakkai smoothed it over by quibbling that it was the personal money of Haruo Nakanishi, who was previously in Ikeda's entourage, but it appeared to everyone that this was but one portion of Ikeda's hidden money.

On top of that, in November of the same year, an incident occurred in which a chief priest of Nichiren Shoshu in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture (in Kyushu) was kidnapped with a ransom demand of $6 million. The fact that the Soka Gakkai promptly made the arrangements for the $6 million was a surprise for the general public, but when the police apprehended the criminals, they turned out to be Soka Gakkai members. It was a rather crude affair.

Yet, since the general public raised an outcry over successive incidents in which hundreds of millions fluttered around, the tax authorities could not ignore it, and they began a serious audit in which they scouted for the Soka Gakkai's hidden money.

But, the audit produced no results. It concluded with the Tokyo Regional Tax Administration Agency recognizing only the Soka Gakkai's selling of tombstones among their cemetary enterprises as a for-profit business. Only a small amount of tax was collected.

When the audit results were released, there once again arose suspicions around the incident of the Renoir paintings (March, 1991). This time, when an art museum connected to the Soka Gakkai purchased two Renoir paintings for $41 million through the medium of Mitsubishi, an unaccounted for expenditure of $15 million turned up, and there was an outcry over the suspicions that the unaccounted for expenditures wound up in Daisaku Ikeda's pocket. The Tokyo Regional Tax Administration Agency reported that they were reopening their audit of the unaccounted for expenditures, and for a time there were high expectations, but of course the audit concluded without the looked for results. The Soka Gakkai's impregnability was all that was discovered.

Actually, rumors spread that during this second series of audits as well, "governmental suppression" had increased, and Michio Watanabe's speech vouched for this rumor. We listened anew to former Vice Prime Minister Watanabe.

"The speech of the 26th was a symbolic portion of past problems in which the LDP discerned all of the Soka Gakkai's difficulties. I had nothing to do with it, but because they were relied upon in the arena of national politics, everything (that is, the national tax audits) was halted midway.

This is not a problem of laws, but a problem of common sense. The problems with the Fuji cemetaries and the 'Safe Incident,' these are strange to anybody who thinks about them. They say a man named Nakanishi stored the $1.2 million in the safe. But, the National Tax Administration and the police aren't blind and stupid. It's clear that some agent was at work.

Additionally, the Gakkai constructs buildings called 'Culture Centers' all over the country, but they're actually for Ikeda's use. You can do anything you want when you have tax exempt income. When Ikeda goes overseas, he spends hundreds of millions of yen and travels like a lord. He could do this because the LDP looked the other way. (Concerning the tax evasions) I don't defintely know, but if I remember correctly, there was talk around the time of the Persian Gulf War. At that time, Komeito opposed the PKO (UN sponsored Peace Keeping Operations) bill. (The bill would have the Japanese government fund Desert Storm.) The LDP planned to send 9 billion dollars from the emergency fund of the fiscal year's budget to support the Persian Gulf War, and the measure had to be completed by March, the end of the fiscal year. At that time the opposition parties held a majority in the Upper House, and there would not have been time for passage of the measure if it had been voted down in the Upper House and sent back. Therefore, the LDP looked to Komeito.

It was decided to kill a small insect (the tax audits) in order to let a large insect (aid for the Persian Gulf War) survive. It was precisely at that time that the National Tax Administration began auditing the Soka Gakkai."
-------------------------End of Quote------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's significant that SGI describes itself as "A WORLD PEACE ORGANIZATION." Members are urged to constantly chant, and work for world peace! If I'm reading this correctly, Watanabe is saying that the Komeito Party agreed to vote to send funds to support the Persian Gulf War -- if the Liberal Democratic Party would stop the audits on SGI's financial irregularities.

The Komeito was also willing to vote to send members of the Japanese Self-Defense Force to support Coalition forces in Iraq -- again, in order to please their LDP partners. About 2,000 Japanese Soka Gakkai members petitioned the Komeito not to do this -- given SGI's stance on World Peace. The Komeito promptly ignored them.

Some world peace organization!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2009 05:24AM by tsukimoto.

------Beginning of Quote -- Last Part of Watanabe's Speech, Cult Awareness and Information Center-------------------------------------------------

As stated earlier, the only results the Tokyo Regional Tax Administration Agency produced was a revision of the tombstone sales at their cemetary enterprises and a revision which would include a portion of the Gakkai Headquarters utilities and personnel expenses in the calculation of Seikyo Shinbun's operating expenses. However, in actuality, the possibility of an audit into Daisaku Ikeda's tax evasions becomes unexpectedly high.

Masao Okkotsu, a journalist well versed in the Gakkai problem, says, "The point of the tax audit conducted by the National Tax Administration was to inquire into whether its earnings were for the public good as a religious corporation or for money-making purposes, whether Daisaku Ikeda used Soka Gakkai facilities for his personal use, whether zaimu collected from Gakkai believers were donations or gifts, and whether there were unclear points concerning how Gakkai appropriations are spent.

If all of that had been resolved, it would have presumably expanded to the preposterous tax evasion incidents, but it all misfired. It is said that the LDP Secretary General of the time, Ichiro Ozawa, and Komeito struck a deal with each other. From the time of Kakuei Tanaka, the Tanaka faction intensified its opposition to the Social Democratic Party and in doing so aligned itself with Komeito to engineer the political world.

This relationship has passed on to Noboru Takeshita and Ichiro Ozawa. It is said that in January of last year, when the audits of the National Tax Administration were all concluded, Ikeda praised Ozawa to the skies, saying at a gathering of leaders, 'We're safe from the National Tax Administration. Ozawa's truly amazing. Even if Komeito Diet members are implicated, it would not sit with Ozawa.'"

Ichiro Ozawa and the Komeito Secretary General (Ichikawa) form the nucleus of the current Hosokawa cabinet and make a total "Ichi-Ichi" combination. Many Gakkai observers think the Gakkai will take advantage of this structure to cover-up their tax evasions. On the other hand, we hear from Komeito Prefectural Diet Members who are part of an anti-Ikeda faction and who were elected from around the capital, "Even though people say that the National Tax Administration was restrained, it is true that the report concerning the cemetaries (the tombstone sales being a for-profit enterprise) was revised. Common sense says that for a religious corporation, that alone is a serious matter. They lost money in stock investments and they received compensation from the securities firm, but at that time, President Akiya said, 'From now on, we want to make sound investments.' They are a group who has forgotten all sense of shame.

However, all the main leaders say that Honorary President Ikeda's favorite saying is 'Protect me.' The Komeito as well is a political party whose purpose is to protect Honorary President Ikeda. We've heard talk many times that the National Tax Administration has been restrained and the police have been restrained, but when we ask about it, it all dies away."
--------------------------------------------End of Quote------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've heard the former U.S. president, George W. Bush, described as the "Teflon President." Well, President Ikeda makes George look sticky! Amazing how corrupt SGI is, how much they've done -- and yet none of the accusations ever seem to stick to Ikeda; everything just slides right off. The man can truly do anything he wants and there never are any consequences. (Daisaku, not George.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2009 05:33AM by tsukimoto.

SGI Soka Gakkai Global Inc is very smart.

They have openly threatened newspapers and media who do research into them, and have created a "chill" which makes media look away.
SGI is very similar to Scientology, in that sense.

They have all sorts of front groups, and use the "religious freedom" laws, to allow them to make BILLIONS and hide it tax-free in a "religion".
Just like Scientology.

They are also politically active, like Scientology.

No one know how many billions SGI-USA is worth, as its all hidden behind a "religion". Since SGI-USA choose to hide and conceal their money, and not publish a IRS 990 form, then no one should ever give them 1 dollar, ever. (or anyone other Org that conceals their assets like that, its corrupt).

Probably the only way to get at the facts of SGI, is like what was done with Scientology. Former members come out, and reveal the truth and facts.
[www.xenu.net] Operation Clambake - The Inner Secrets Of Scientology

The mainstream media is not going to do very much, especially these days.
But there are a lot of facts about SGI out there now.
Rick Ross has done articles [www.cultnews.com] as have many others.

Its going to be up to former members, and former senior SGI members, to get the information out, anonymously if they have to.
They could use Wikileaks.org and many others ways to get the information and facts about SGI out.
Internal financial documents from SGI-USA, the SGI "church" with the hidden assets, could be posted in Wikileaks.org by a whistleblower.

But the bottom line, is since SGI-USA chooses to CONCEAL where their money goes by not publishing an IRS 990 form, then no one should ever give them 1 dollar, or volunteer for them, or anything else.
Any religious organization that HIDES their assets from their members, is a recipe for corruption.
Legit non-profits post their IRS 990 forms, so you can see where your donations are going.

SGI-USA fails the non-profit test.
SGI University also fails, as they just put all your money into the stock-market, to make more money.
They are not about World Peace, they are about capitalism, they make millions off companies who make profit from war, that is reality.

When SGI says they are about Peace and Human Rights, that is like Scientology.
"Human rights" to them means religious FINANCIAL freedom to not pay taxes!
"Peace" to them, means their religion getting involved in politics.

SGI Human Rights = the right to not pay taxes
SGI Peace = political power

Something has to be done about all of these "new religions" abusing the tax-system, its beyond out of control.