| Formal Letter of Protest
to the Liberal Democratic Party |
| Formal Letter of Protest
to the Liberal Democratic Party The Clearing House Archive Discussion Message Board: Ikeda Rape Trial: Formal Letter of Protest to the Liberal Democratic Party Jiyuno Toride, 5/10/98 The Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Submits a Public Protest & List of Questions to the LDP Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Strictly Protest the LDP's "Apology to the Soka Gakkai" A Nationwide Campaign is to be Carried Out Depending on the LDP's Response LDP Diet Member, Mr. Yashiro, and others agreed with our organization's protest, stating, "Soka Gakkai is an aberrant religious organization." Five members of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association, Chief Secretary Masami Goro, Regular Secretary Kazuo Mizuguchi, Secretary Shunzo Kuwahara, and others, handed a Notice of Public Protest & Questions to members of the LDP, at 12 noon, May 8th, 1998, announcing their strong protest against the LDP for its apology on the serialized articles about the Ikeda Rape incident in the LDP organ paper "Jiyu Shinpo", and requested disclosure of the process and reasoning behind the apology, to Japanese voters. The five LDP members, whom Mr. Goro and others met with at the LDP office in Nagata-Cho, Chiyoda-Ward, Tokyo, were Eita Yashiro, Yoshitomo Watanabe, Katsuei Hirasawa, Yoshihide Suga, and Masashi Nakano. (All are members of the Lower House.) These five LDP members stated, "We have been keeping our eyes on the activities of the Soka Gakkai, and have been very concerned about Ikeda's words and actions. We have felt a sense of foreboding that there is a strong possibility of Ikeda's Soka Gakkai taking over politics and this country's citizens." They didn't try to hide their anger and dissension over the LDP's sudden apology, which was issued under the name of Kaoru Yosano, the chief of the public relations division of the LDP, who neglected to even review the facts of the rape incident allegedly committed by Ikeda. When, Chief Secretary, Masami Goro read out loud the Public Protest & List of Questions before the LDP members, expressing his anger, the Diet Members loudly stated exclamations of approval, saying, "Yes! I agree!", repeatedly. The LDP members promised Mr. Goro and others, saying "Our opinion is definitely the same as that expressed in your letter of protest. We promise that we will hand it over to the Chief Secretary, Koichi Kato." An LDP member stated, "We're going to take this Kato, now." Moreover, they stated, "The actions of Soka Gakkai are definitely in violation of Article 20 of the Japanese Constitution. Soka Gakkai is an aberrant religious organization. In any case, the apology the LDP made is a serious problem, and it was given without full consideration of the result of the trial." Their views showed that as duly elected public officials, they fully understood the gravity and ramifications of the actions of the LDP, and that their position was entirely different from that of LDP leaders. The following is the Public Protest & List of Questions. To: Mr. Ryutaro Hashimoto, President of the Liberal Democratic Party Mr. Koichi Kato, Chief Secretary of the Liberal Democratic Party May 8th, 1998, The LDP expressed the viewpoint, in your organ newspaper, Jiyu Shinpo, dated 4/21/98, in making an apology to the Soka Gakkai, "We accepted a falsehood by mistake" with regards to the serialized article, titled "The Victim of the Ikeda Rape Incident, Nobuko Nobuhira". That attitude evoked great indignation in us. We herewith file formal protest with the Liberal Democratic Party against its conduct and raise the questions as indicated below. (1) With regards to the incident being tried in a court of law, which is still in progress, it is not only unprecedented, and absurd, but it is also a possible violation of the Japanese Constitution to ignore the court and to state the plaintiff's claim is a "falsehood" in a democratic country where there is the separation of the three branches of government. We demand a clear and accurate answer stating what part of the lawsuit, by Mrs. Nobuko Nobuhira, is falsehood, and what part of the article, by Mr. Kunio Naito, is falsehood. (2) In the General election campaign of 1996, the LDP's criticism of the Soka Gakkai, as one of its main campaign points in the election, garnered much support from the electorate. The VSGA is an organization which consists of people who have been victimized by the anti-social and criminal acts of the Soka Gakkai. We concurred with the LDP's criticism against the Soka Gakkai and many members supported the LDP, and participated in distributing the pamphlets outlining the policies of the LDP. The present conduct of the LDP goes against the public commitments promoted in the General Election, and against the LDP's supporters. We demand a clear and accurate reply on this matter, as well. (3) Moreover, at the Senior Leaders' Meeting of the Soka Gakkai, held 4/20/98, Einosuke Akiya, the president of the Soka Gakkai, stated, "Prime Minister Hashimoto apologized saying he was very sorry to have troubled Honorary President Ikeda. The Chief Secretary, Kato also apologized saying he was very sorry to be so rude to the Honorary President." We have the audio tape of Akiya's statements in our possession. The Soka Gakkai claims that the Prime Minister and the Chief Secretary of the LDP, themselves, apologized. Is that true? If that is true, by all means, we would like to request Mr. Hashimoto and Mr. Kato to explain the process and reasoning of that conduct, in front of the Japanese people. We request your response to these three matters within a week. Depending on your response to our request, we may hold a national convention and report the findings to the 100,000 members of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association. Thank you. Representing the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association A group seeking Freedom of Religion Masami Goro, Chief Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Kazuo Mizuguchi, Regular Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Masaru Yamaguchi, Regular Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Shunzo Kuwahara, Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Issei Taga, Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Mieko Inoue, Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Toshishige Hamada, Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Sadao Shiina, Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Akihiro Iioka, Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Soichiro Sao, Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Yoshio Isono, Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Masakuni Shibata, Secretary of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association Koji Teratani, Director General of the Victims of Soka Gakkai Association |
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