The Pursuit of Tangible Happiness: Religion and Politics in a Japanese New, New Religion

<p> The decline of traditional religions in Japan in the past century, and especially since the end of World War Two, has led to an explosion of so-called &ldquo;new religions&rdquo; (shin sh&umacr;ky&omacr; 新宗教), many of which have made forays into the political realm. The best known&mdash;and most controversial&mdash;example of a &ldquo;political&rdquo; new religion is S&omacr;ka Gakkai 創価学会, a lay Buddhist movement originally associated with the Nichiren sect that in the 1960s gave birth to a new political party, Komeit&omacr; 公明党 (lit., Clean Government Party), which in the past several decades has emerged as the third most popular party in Japan (as New Komeit&omacr;). Since the 1980s, Japan has also seen the emergence of so-called &ldquo;new, new religions&rdquo; (shin shin sh&umacr;ky&omacr; 新新宗教), which tend to be more technologically savvy and less socially concerned (and, in the eyes of critics, more akin to &ldquo;cults&rdquo; than the earlier new religions). One new, new religion known as K&omacr;fuku-no-Kagaku 幸福の科学 (lit., Institute for Research in Human Happiness or simply Happy Science), founded in 1986 by &Omacr;kawa Ry&umacr;ho 大川隆法, has very recently developed its own political party, K&omacr;fuku Jitsugent&omacr; 幸福実現党 (The Realization of Happiness Party). This article will analyse the political ideals of K&omacr;fuku Jitsugent&omacr; in relation to its religious teachings, in an attempt to situate the movement within the broader tradition of religio-political syncretism in Japan. In particular, it will examine the recent &ldquo;manifesto&rdquo; of K&omacr;fuku Jitsugent&omacr; in relation to those of New Komeit&omacr; and &ldquo;secular&rdquo; political parties such as the Liberal Democratic Party (Jimint&omacr; 自民党) and the Democratic Party (Minshut&omacr; 民主党).</p>