The former head of the Soka Gakkai Buddhist organization, Daisaku Ikeda, has died

THE Daisaku Ikedaformer head of the Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai (Soka Gakkai), has passed away at the age of 95, the organization announced today.

“He died of old age on the night of November 15 at his home in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo,” Soka Gakkai said in a statement.

Daisaku Ikeda has long been the spiritual leader of this Buddhist organization known abroad for its association with celebrities, including Hollywood star Orlando Bloom, and in Japan for its political influence.

This organization, which was founded in 1930, has, according to itself, 12 million members in 192 countries and territories worldwide.

Daisaku Ikeda helped grow the influence of Soka Gakkai in Japan and around the world and had traveled to over 50 countries to hold talks with leaders including former Chinese Premier Chu Enlai and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

He also co-founded Komeito (1964), a centrist political party that is part of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party coalition in Japan.

池田大作氏の御逝去の報に接し、想を悲しみにたえまこば。
池田漫等, at home and abroad, he did his best to promote peace, culture, education, etc., played an important role, and left a big footprint in history.

— 岸田文雄 (@kishida230) November 18, 2023

Ikeda “played an important role in promoting peace, culture and education in Japan and abroad,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wrote in a post on Platform X, also noting that he would leave an “indelible mark on history.”