INDICTMENTS BY FORMER SGI AMERICAN LEADERSWeekly Post, 10/14/94By: Masao OkkotsuIkeda's house in Malibu, on the outskirts of L.A.,has gilded bathrooms. Isn't that in violation ofFederal Tax Laws?"This is my home in America." - Mr. Daisaku Ikeda oncemade that comment about a building on the grounds of the MalibuTraining Center, located in a high- class city on the outskirtsof Los Angeles. However, it is the property of Soka Gakkai,which is recognized as a religious corporation in the States.If it is actually private property, it raises doubts about its legality.Continuing from the preceding issue, we report on location about theoverseas activities of the enigmatic huge religious group.Three Conditions for Religious Corporate Tax ExemptionSGI-USA (Soka Gakkai International-United States of America),Soka Gakkai's American religious corporation, owns vastreal estate around Los Angeles. We reported about this fact in ourprevious issue, but since most of the property purchased isowned by a religious corporation, no fixed asset taxes are assessed."American religious corporations, the same as in Japan, receivepreferential treatment from the standpoint of tax laws. But inJapan, if a group possesses the qualifications to be a religiouscorporation, then no taxes are assessed unconditionally. That'sdifferent from America, where, even if religious corporatestatus is granted, they are not given tax exempt privileges unless atax exempt petition is submitted to the local and state taxauthorities and an audit is passed. Three prerequisites for taxexemption are stipulated in Article 501 of the City TaxCode. The first is, political activities and political donations areforbidden. The second is, excessive for-profit enterprisesare forbidden. And the third is, the privatization of the religiousgroup's assets by the head or the leaders is forbidden.If these regulations are violated, tax exempt privileges are not given."(International Business Law Professor Ishimura of Asahi University)I flew to Los Angeles and received from many formerSGI-USA leaders detailed testimony concerning the reality of the SokaGakkai's overseas assets and overseas activities, which up tonow have remained largely unrevealed. According to theirtestimony, there are suspicions about whether the SGI-USAis in violation of two of the three conditions which must be met toreceive tax exempt status.Among those former leaders, former SGI-USA ChapterChief, James Eagleton points out the privatization of the religiousgroup. "At the Malibu Training Center, there's a house forIkeda that we members are never allowed to enter. We are allowedto enter only the training center itself. The house is a privatebuilding which is used only when Ikeda comes to Los Angeles,and it's shrouded in a veil of secrecy."Daisaku Ikeda, Soka Gakkai Honorary President, is alsothe SGI President, the head of the SGI wherever it exists around theworld. The Malibu Training Center, which occasionallyappears in Mr. Ikeda's collections of photos, was opened in 1972 bythe SGI-USA (at the time it was known as NSA, NichirenShoshu of America). The area of the site is approximately 9800tsubo. (Translator's note: A tsubo is approximately 36 squarefeet.) The city of Malibu is an extremely high-class city which abuts thePacific Ocean and is approximately one hour's drive by carto the northwest from the center of Los Angeles. It is well knownthat many stars, such as actor Kevin Costner and tennis' John McEnroe, live there.When looking at the Malibu Training Center from the air,two buildings and a Western style park can be clearly discerned onthe extensive site, which includes a private beach. The hugebuilding nestled against a mountain is the training center, and thebuilding nearer the ocean is the aforementioned "Ikeda house."According to registration documents, the training centerbuilding was built in 1973. Its floor space is approximately 150 tsubo.The Ikeda house is older, having been built in 1964. Itsfloor space is approximately 60 tsubo. Former Los Angeles SGI-USAleaders who are familiar with the Ikeda house all testify that it is luxurious."When Ikeda came to America in 1990, I was orderedby a top Women's Division leader to clean the bathroom in the Ikedahouse. I have entered the Ikeda house just that once, butI clearly remember that the bathroom was luxurious. The door andfaucets did not have knobs. They had the expensive handletypes. Furthermore, they were all gold plated. Also, a thick carpetcovered the bathroom floor. I cleaned it completely, but theWomen's Division leader who was supervising told me repeatedly,'Ikeda Sensei's going to see it! Get it cleaner, get it cleaner.'I even shoved my hand down the pipes." (a former SGI-USAYoung Men's Division leader who left the Gakkai in 1992) Hesays that it made him feel somewhat ill at ease that thebathroom in the Ikeda house was gilded.A former leader, who is Japanese and who currently residesin Los Angeles, says, "I recently spoke with the caretaker, whosaid he's been a caretaker there for the past seven years, butthat last year was the first time he had ever cleaned the Ikedahouse. Originally, the wives of the top leaders, including thewife of the SGI-USA General Director, were responsible for it,but last year the wife of the man who became General Directorwas busy, so she requested a substitute. He said that there areno words to describe how luxurious it is."Local Leaders In Particular Are Not Allowed Near ItEven the caretaker first entered the Ikeda house after sevenyears on the job. I was able to meet with the person who carriedout the renovations. His name is Mr. Steve Gore (46).Mr. Gore joined NSA in 1965 at the age of sixteen. Aftergraduating from UCLA, he became an employee of the NSAHeadquarters. He is a former top leader who, at the age oftwenty-one, became America's youngest Los Angeles TerritoryGeneral Chapter Chief and who also worked on the planningstaff of the Young Men's Division. He left the organization in1974."The Malibu Training Center is a facility which used to be thevilla of a famous playwright. NSA bought it in 1972 for$109,000. They built the training center building from scratch,and renovated the already existing building to be Ikeda's villa.An opening ceremony was conducted on April 19, 1972.When I was renovating the Ikeda house, I was instructed byVice-General Director Mike Kikumura, 'Spare no expense.Take special care to use the best materials.'I rememberpurchasing the inside furnishings from Schneider DiamondCo., which handles only very top quality materials."According to Mr. Gore's recollections, the house consistedof four spacious rooms: a living room, a dining room, a bedroomand a Gohonzon room, as well as a bath, a bathroom anda kitchen. (Translator's note: In Japan, the room containing the toilet isseparate from the room containing the bath. Apparently,the Ikeda house in Malibu follows this pattern.) He says that, then, when theyrenovated it, they built a new open air hot tub lined withrocks, which Mr. Ikeda loved, and a sauna. "The interior had beenbuilt in the style of a cabin, with thick logs showing. Butwe renovated it in a semi-European style using plenty of top qualityJapanese cypress."Mr. Gore says that at the time they paid particular attentionto soundproofing. "Ikeda hates noise, so we laid lumber over thewooden floors, spread sound proofing material over it, andthen laid a double layer of three inch thick boards. We then putJapanese cypress on top of that, giving the floor four layersof wood. We put Japanese cypress on the ceilings and the wallsfor sound proofing. The bedroom windows were doublepaned as well. We covered the floor with thick white shag carpet.The bed was king size, with gold plated piping. We demolisheda parking area big enough to hold three limousines and built arock-lined hot tub. The water is always maintained at 102degrees with a heater, and the hot water flowed down over therocks like a cascade. Ikeda was extremely pleased with it,and often said, 'This is my home in America."'When the Malibu Training Center was opened, local leaders and members gathered there and held a training meeting andgarden party in the training center building and the Westernstyle garden, but they were not allowed near the Ikeda house.Even the leaders who accompanied him from Japan, exceptfor the No. 1 General Affairs Dept. female employees who lookedafter Ikeda, all slept huddled together in the training center building.However, things were different for one portion of Women'sDivision leaders and Young Women's Division leaders. "FromFriday night until Sunday, Ikeda would occasionally assemblea small number of top Women's Division leaders and YoungWomen's Division leaders and hold special guidance meetings.Since they would enter the stone hot tub together, they werecalled 'Nude Guidance Meetings.' This was an open secretbetween leaders in America." (Mr. Gore)While the Ikeda house on the grounds of the Malibu TrainingCenter is the possession of he religious corporation SGI-USA, itis, in actuality, used as a facility and villa for Mr. Ikeda'sindividual private use."The privatization of a religious body concretely meansthat the head of the sect or the leaders personally use the religiousgroup's assets, and that they receive excessive remuneration.Ultimately, it depends upon what sort of decision would behanded down by the American tax authorities, but if actualprivatization can be proved, it is possible that their tax exemptprivileges would be revoked." (the aforementioned Professor Ishimura)Mr. Gore, who majored in political science at UCLA, alsosays that he was encouraged by Mr. Ikeda to "Create an AmericanKomei Party." In 1972 and 1974, he accompanied Mr.Ikeda to both England and Panama as a bodyguard."During the '72 visit to England, Ikeda bought up paintings,bronze statues and the like. I suppose the total amount exceeded$10 million. The No. 1 General Affairs Chief Shigeru Ishida(presently a Vice President), who traveled with us, wrote memossaying that Ikeda indicated, 'This one, this one and this one,'and they would be purchased with cash using dollars, yen andpounds."Mr. Gore entertained doubts about Mr. Ikeda, who usedmoney as freely as water, and determined to leave the organizationover a certain incident. "In 1974, it was discovered thatBrazil Soka Gakkai General Director Robert Saito (currentlyHonorary General Director) was embezzling the organization'smoney. Vice President Satoru Izumi (currently Chief of theSupreme Guidance Council) came from Japan to handle theincident, and the three of us, he, NSA General Director GeorgeWilliams (currently General Director Emeritus) and I, set offfor Brazil. In the end, he was told that if he returned the money, noquestions would be asked, and we collected $1 million. Weput it into 2 suitcases and conveyed it to Los Angeles. At thesame time, Williams said that he had purchased uncut gems assouvenirs and he asked me to carry them. He handed 3 boxesof gems over to me. But when we arrived at the L.A. airport,the customs agent called out my name and told me to show himthe boxes of gems. When I did, rings and such with processeddiamonds were rolling around inside the boxes. The customsform said they were uncut gems, so I was immediatelyarrested as a smuggler. In the meantime, Williams and Izumi passedthrough Customs carrying the suitcases. They used me as a scapegoat.""Everything Depends on Money"Along with the Ikeda house, SGI-USA's political contributionshave also become problematic in terms of tax laws. A numberof local mass media offices report that the SGI-USA sent largepolitical contributions to the mayor of Los Angeles.As stated in the Los Angeles Times (paraphrased), despitethe fact that as a tax exempt religious organization they areprohibited from making political contributions, Nichiren Shoshuof America (NSA)...in 1985 and 1986 twice gave Mr.Bradley (Editor's note: The former L.A. mayor from 1973-93)a total of $16,700 for his election fund. This is made clear byany number of articles. (11/17/91 Los Angeles Times)(Translator's note: This is a translation of the Japanese, and is not a verbatimquote directly from the Los Angeles Times.)Former SGI-USA Vice Headquarters Chief Thomas McCord (50),who left the organization in 1992, says, "Politicalcontributions have become a problem within NSA as well.In 1986, Mayor Tom Bradley attended the opening ceremony forthe World Peace Ikeda Auditorium and sat shoulder toshoulder with Ikeda. I had doubts about it, thinking, 'Mayor Bradleyhas no faith. Why is he here?' Later a member discovereda copy of a personal check which NSA had hurriedly sent to themayor. This became a problem. As may be expected, theyhad many political problems, such as trouble over buying the landfor the site of the Los Angeles branch of Soka University.The aim of the political contributions was to receiveaccommodations over these problems."Mr. Steve Gore has very interesting testimony about politicalcontributions. "It was the end of 1971, Christmas night, I think.Williams and I visited the municipal mansion of Mayor SamYoty with a political contribution. The purpose was to request thatIkeda receive the title of Honorary Citizen and to requestapproval for a planned parade down Wilshire Boulevard, a principalcity street, when NSA held its nation-wide general meetingin April the following year. I waited outside the room, but whenWilliams came out, he laughed, saying, 'Steve, it's OK. Everythingdepends on money.' The impression I received from thatremains with me."The authorities have not investigated this problem of politicalcontributions, but reporter John Datz of the Los Angeles Timessays, "Reporters who have covered the SGI-USA know thatSoka Gakkai, its parent organization, is becoming a topic ofconversation in Japan as a problematic religion, and in particularthat it is being inundated with severe criticism over the issue ofthe union of Church and State. They are also well aware that inAmerica, SGI-USA is deluged with criticism over being a cult.However, it could only be said that the average citizen's concernfor and knowledge of the SGI is low. That's because therehave not been enough reports concerning the SGI. Therein laythe makings for SGI to expand its influence."It is being said that the Soka Gakkai problem will once againbecome a focus in the Diet this fall. It is being reported that Mr.Ikeda has spoken about the political situation, but the facts donot stop at Japan's boundaries.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^"Pain and suffering caused by one person on another person is evil."Pat Matthews, Follower of Ikeda"Members of the group have used arson and a bomb threat againsttemples of rival Buddhist groups. Soka Gakkai has also tried to block thepublication of critical books, and it was convicted of wiretapping thehouse of the Communist Party leader. A spokesman said the bomb threatand arson incidents involved "individuals with history of mental illness"NY Times 11-14-99"How do we distinguish between evil acts and bad acts?"Pat Matthews"it isn't worth spending a lot of money on spying on the Temple, sinceso many people are willing to do it for free"Chris HolteDaisaku gave the orders:"Let us proudly advance on the supreme road to Kosenrufu as weBRING AN END to the [High Priest] Nikken sect"WT, March 1, 1993, p. 4The followers reply to their sensei:The Soka Gakkai also has begun a campaign of harassmentagainst the priests. Rumors have been spread that the TaisekijiTemple grounds are in disarray, with stray dogs wanderingabout and robbers lurking in the shadows. Right-wing groupspark their sound trucks outside the temple and blast out theircriticism of the priests..."Los Angeles Times, 12/16/91"I know what the group does to people whom itregards as its enemies. It's not safe for anyonewho dares to criticize it."TIME - THE POWER OF SOKA GAKKAIhttp://pathfinder.com/@@***@02C68/time/international/1995/951120/japan.htmlMs. U witnessed four SGI senior leaders storm Bukkenji Temple.She attempted to take a photograph of the vehicle that theyhad arrived in. The four persons turned their attention on herand charged her, knocking her into the air. When she hit theground, they brutally kicked and assaulted her. She sufferedmultiple serious injuries, a broken hip and spinal fractures.Shukan Jitsuwa 12/02/93One member of the group of four monks and six followerssaid they were verbally abused and punched by local members ofthe Singapore Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist Association(SNSBA) [Soka Gakkai Singapore].The Straits Times - TUESDAY, JUNE 25, 1991"They tried to chase us when my sisterswent out. They came to our home to try to harass us. My formerfriends told lies to get my phone number. When they called,they said,You will go to hell, you will be unhappy. Some weresubjected to physical violence. There was an order by Ikeda toharass members who leave the cult."Japans Rush Hour of The GodsTHE AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINEhttp://www.cebunet.com/sgi/rushour.htm..."a mob of Soka Gakkai members, marched into the Kaishinji temple during areligious service. Shoving aside worshippers, they seized Yahiro andKashiwazaki. I thought I was going to die, recalls Yahiro, anasthmatic. He almost did. A large man grabbed Yahiro by his necktie and liftedhim off the floor, and others took turns punching him until he passed out."TIME Magazine November 20, 1995 Volume 146, No. 21"...several hundred Soka Gakkai members invaded his temple during aservice and beat him so severely that he was hospitalized for three months.Yahiro's hospitalization in April 1991 brought to light a brewing battle..."San Francisco Chronicle: - Japan Fears Another Religious Secthttp://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1995/12/27/MN62956.DTLSGI charter:3.SGI shall respect and protect the freedom of religion and religiousexpression.7.SGI shall, based on the Buddhist spirit of tolerance, respect otherreligions...SOURCE: SGI Homepagehttp://news.sg-eye.com