I keep meaning to post this: "Soka Gakkai boosts advertising on TV"

That's right - the Soka Gakkai is now out trolling for new members via media advertising. Whatever happened to person-to-person shakubuku via dialogue?

I guess that if you're supposed to imagine a profoundly deep and fulfilling relationship with someone you'll never ever meet, what's the difference whether they're smiling warmly at you via some impersonal billboard or from an article containing some impersonal "guidance" in a publication? Simply a matter of who's paying for it?

But let's get into the article, from 2008:

Soka Gakkai boosts advertising on TV

Soka Gakkai, a religious organization that originated from Nichiren Buddhism in 1930 and is closely associated with the coalition New Komeito party, is now boosting its TV advertising.

Soka Gakkai has sponsored programs on local TV and radio stations as well as advertised itself in magazines for a long time. On Oct 4, a TV commercial of Soka University, Soka Gakkai’s affiliated organization, was aired as a sponsor for Fuji TV’s news and sports program “Live 2008 News & Sports!” One of the program’s production staff said, “It was the first time that Soka Gakkai’s TV commercial appeared on a nationwide major TV network and appeared as a sponsor for a news program. It was good timing for them at a time when the general election was expected to be held that week.”

Oh, BIG surprise. More "expedient means"...

The ad for Soka University is not just being aired during programs that Soka Gakkai sponsors but also during programs on other networks, such as NTV, for example.

A politician of the Demcratic Party of Japan said, “For the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, which form the government, support from Soka Gakkai members is essential. I think the TV ad campaign is aimed at bringing them together for the next election.”

A spokesperson for Soka Gakkai said, “In general, students tend to decide which universities to apply to in the autumn. That’s why we broadcast the TV commercial in early October. It had nothing to do with any election strategy.”

Yuh huh. No one feels obligated to believe the pathological liars. We here at SGIWhistleblowers have abundant experience with SGI loyalists who, when presented with information that demonstrates that what they've stated is wrong, respond with "Nuh UH!!!" This demonstrates that they're either comprehension challenged or integrity challenged. Regardless, why would we believe anything such individuals say?

A spokesperson for Fuji explained that Soka University is officially approved as an educational institution by the government. “There’s no problem with broadcasting their TV commercial.” Meanwhile, an NTV spokesperson said: “We screen TV commercials based on the guidelines shared by other commercial broadcasters.” One insider speculated that Soka University possibly paid 100 million yen to Fuji TV for the commercial.

"Money is no object for Gandhi-King Ikeda!"

Although Fuji TV and NTV say there is nothing wrong with broadcasting Soka University’s TV commercials, media professor Takaaki Hattori at Rikkyo University pointed out: “It’s not problematic at all for the university to have TV commercials. But being a sponsor for a news program is questionable. While TV stations are currently suffering from decline in advertising revenue, they should remember they are news organizations and be careful about accepting sponsorships from political parties. Otherwise, their stance toward politics will be called into question by viewers.” (Translated by Taro Fujimoto)

As it should be. Interested that virtually every comment from Soka Gakkai is "No! Really! There's nothing wrong with it! Nothing at all!" It appears that the Japanese public is deeply suspicious of anything with "Soka Gakkai" attached to it, and for good reason. For all their denials, they doth protest too loudly...