　
New Komeito's Views on Politics and Religion in Japan
The issue of Komeito's relations with the Soka Gakkai, the Buddhist organization, has been the subject of as much serious debate as it has been a tool of political expedience by the party’s rivals and critics. In summary, the Soka Gakkai is a constituency that has provided electoral endorsement to the party until today. The relation between the two entities is no different from that of a political party and any civil group--such as a labor union, for example--that endorses the party, and it has been established as being constitutionally legitimate.
In Japan, moreover, major groups or companies, including religious organizations, have routinely endorsed political parties and/or candidates. To further clarify the nature of the relationship, in 1970, Komeito and the Soka Gakkai severed all organizational affiliation. (Prior to that time it was possible for an individual to hold appointments in both organizations.) The Soka Gakkai has not provided any degree of oversight to the Komei Party or its current successor, New Komeito, in terms of personnel, management or administration, since then. Nor has there ever been any financial affiliation between the Soka Gakkai and the political party since the latter’s launch in 1964.Â
With regard to the issue of protecting religious freedom, New Komeito Chief Representative Takenori Kanzaki reiterated the party’s stance at the Party National Convention held in 1999:
"New Komeito has been, and forever remains committed to, the protection of religious freedom and the principle of separation of church and state as stipulated in Article 20 of the Constitution. I wish to declare once again that New Komeito will not in any way favor, or exclude, any particular religious organization.Â
Soka Gakkai President Einosuke Akiya clarified the Soka Gakkai position on the principle of political participation when he addressed the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in 1995:
"Soka Gakkai will not make use of the power of the state to propagate religion, it will not seek to gain special protection and privileges from the state, and it will demand religious neutrality to be maintained by the political party and candidates that it supports."
Separation of Church and State in the Japanese Constitution
The principle of "the separation of church and state" was mandated by the 1945 Constitution (Article 20), which was ratified after Japan’s defeat in World War II. It was based on the hope that Japan would never again perpetrate war and repeat the mistakes of its wartime past – a horrific legacy forced upon the Japanese by the militarist government and legitimized at the time through its collaboration with State Shinto. Article 20 reads:Â
Freedom of religion is guaranteed to every person.
Any religious organization must not make use of political power.Â
As one memorandumof the Allied Powers Occupation would note, "State Shinto has been used by militarists and ultra-nationalists in Japan to engender and foster a military spirit among the people and to justify a war of expansion." Freedom of religion was thus constitutionally protected after the war, barring the government from interfering with religious belief and activity, so that individuals or organizations, regardless of denomination, would never again fall victim to state persecution,.
The original postwar draft of a Japanese bill of rights engendered considerable debate. One article which prohibited political activity by religious organizations, was omitted after much discussion, for it was seen as an intolerable danger to democracy in that it would enable the state to intervene in the affairs of religious organizations.
The article’s omission remains crucial to the proper interpretation of Article 20. The constitutional drafting team that belonged to the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers’ Government Section clearly cites the problems associated with the proposed article and why it was deleted from the original draft.
Thus, Article 20 was never intended to prohibit any citizen or religious organization from participating in the political process. This interpretation has always been the government's official position on the issue and repeatedly upheld by constitutional experts.
Article 20 of the Japanese Constitution
Japanese postwar governments have consistently interpreted Article 20 as barring the state and its agencies from exercising their vested authority to intervene or participate in religion on any occasion. The historical context of this question in Japan is clearly different from the issue of separation of religion and state as discussed, say, in Europe. The problem in Japan has been that the state has historically controlled or co-opted religion, the latter traditionally exploited out of the self-interests of the former. Thus, the primary concern of the Japanese Constitution has been to guarantee independence of religious organizations and freedom of religious belief, protecting them from state interference.
In July 1946, Minister of State Tokujiro Kanamori stated: "This [phrasing of the clause that bars any religious organization from making] use of political power does not mean a direct prohibition of political activities." In April 1970, the government clarified in an official statement that it does not contravene the Constitution even if those who are supported by a religious organization assume the reins of national government, and that freedom of political activities by religious organizations is constitutionally guaranteed. In October 1994, Mr. Takao Ohde, then Director-General of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, stated at the Lower House Budget Committee meeting: "Even if a member of the Diet, endorsed by a religious organization, gains a Cabinet minister position, the organization and the minister are deemed separate entities under the law, and therefore this does not contravene the principle of separation of church and state." At a Lower House Budget Committee meeting in July 1999, Mr. Masasuke Ohmori, who served as the director-general of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau at the time, reiterated the government’s official position on the matter: "Even if a political candidate recommended or endorsed by a religious organization, becomes a Cabinet minister, because the organization and the minister are legally separate entities … it does not contravene the principle [of the separation of church and state] stipulated in … Article 20 of the Constitution." Mr. Ohmori also stated: "Even if a political party, endorsed by a religious organization, becomes a ruling party, it does not produce a situation contrary to the principle of the separation of church and state established in the Constitution."
On May 19, 2000, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori reaffirmed the government’s stance by saying, "Even if a person who belongs to a political party that has close relations with a particular religious organization becomes a Cabinet minister, since the religious organization and the Cabinet minister are legally separate entities, it does not constitute a situation for the religious organization to 'make use of political power' or cause any violation of the Constitution."
Hidehiro Hamaya, Professor of Law at MatsuzakaUniversity, stated in a 1999 Komei Shimbun interview:
The political activities of religious organizations or individuals who embrace religion, are guaranteed by the Constitution one hundred percent. Freedom of political participation is one of the most important civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution, along with "freedoms of expression" that includes freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly/association. If political activities … should be restricted because of particular faith, it … leads to reverse discrimination against those who embrace particular religions.
Article 20 states: "Freedom of religion is guaranteed to every person. Any religious organization must not make use of political power." Political power as defined here is the use of the designated powers of the state and local government bodies, which includes taxation, the exercise of police power, and judiciary proceedings.
Thus, Article 20 of the Constitution is interpreted to mean that the state must not bestow such government powers on any religious organization. It is not a prohibition against such organizations from participating in the political process. In Japan major groups such as companies, unions, even members of the same profession such as medical doctors, routinely vote as part of a group. Religious groups are no exception, and endorsement of political parties or candidates by major religious organizations is an accepted — and constitutionally validated — feature of Japanese political life.
New Komeito's principles to protect the freedom of religion and separation of church and state
The founding premise and core political objective of the Komeito was to elect individuals of ethical integrity who would honestly serve the electorate. The party was conceived and created at a time when the nation was caught in the throes of the Cold War, and the two parties that dominated Japanese politics — the conservative Liberal Democrats and leftist Socialist Party — were locked in a bitter and protracted struggle for power, with Big Business and other special interest groups firmly in the camp of the former and large labor unions siding with the latter. The resulting political schism left a significant majority of Japanese largely underrepresented, and Komeito was launched to address their political needs.
New Komeito has continued with this mandate to this day, giving political voice to the most vulnerable members of society, including women, the elderly, and owners of small businesses and their employees. And there has never been cause for them to feel that their trust in Komeito or New Komeito has been betrayed. The political party has never sought nor introduced legislation that would in any way favor the Soka Gakkai or its members since it was founded 40 years ago.
The church-state separation issue has merely become controversial whenever a rival party or individual feels some measure of political capital or advantage — particularly during an election year — can be gained by alleging that the Komeito-Soka Gakkai relationship is unconstitutional, for which the Japanese media almost invariably provides coverage. Yet the fact remains that the state’s interpretation of Article 20 has not only been consistent for nearly a half-century — two decades before the Komeito was even founded — it has never been questioned or overturned by the Japanese courts, the ultimate arbiter of constitutionality in a democracy.
