Protesting the maliciousness of "Shukan Shincho" which distorted BBC reports and labeled our association as a cult

In the "Shukan Shincho" released on Thursday, July 26, an article defaming our organization was published under the headline "BBC also reported Happy Science 'Ryuho Okawa' Africa Preaching as a Cult." As the Public Relations Division, we publish the following rebuttal.

To begin with, last year, Shukan Shincho published as many as four defamatory articles, leading our organization to file a lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court seeking 200 million yen in damages for defamation. As one of the parties involved in the lawsuit, they cannot possibly provide fair reporting. On the contrary, Shukan Shincho's Editor-in-Chief Itsushi Sakai has refused interviews from the editorial department of the monthly "The Liberty open_in_new" published by Happy Science Publishing, responding with statements such as "We recognize your organization as a cult group," and continues to write such articles with extreme prejudice. Editor-in-Chief Sakai should return to the basics of being a fair and impartial journalist and sincerely reflect on his actions.

Shukan Shincho's question sheet full of mistranslations

Furthermore, there was a particular problem with Shukan Shincho's interview approach this time. Specifically, reporter Kazuki Shinogi, who was in charge of the interview, presented Japanese translations that were clearly different from the original texts of BBC and AP reports. The questions in the question sheet themselves were mistranslated, and after being pointed out by our association, the question sheet was revised three times. This was the first experience of its kind in our organization's over 20-year history. If Shukan Shincho intentionally mistranslated to disparage our organization, it is a serious issue, and if they cannot accurately translate English into Japanese, we recommend conducting interviews that match their capabilities.

BBC report different from the facts

In the BBC article that served as the basis for this article, it was stated that the National Stadium where President Ryuho Okawa gave a lecture was double-booked with the Uganda Athletics Federation, and if the stadium could have been used as a qualifying venue, at least five athletes might have been able to participate in the Olympics. This is not true. We have directly heard from the National Stadium that our group reserved the venue first, and after the contract was established, the Uganda Athletics Federation only inquired about reserving it for practice and training purposes, not for a qualifying competition. Moreover, we were not even informed that the Uganda Athletics Federation made a reservation inquiry on June 23, and we only learned about it through media reports. Therefore, it is not a "double booking," and naturally, we did not secure the venue with financial power.

No "condemnation" in the BBC article, unidentified "cult statement"

To begin with, the BBC did not say "Happy Science is a cult" at all. The article mentions "a pastor in Kampala said our organization is a cult," but there is no mention in Shukan Shincho of "some pastors in Kampala condemning 'Happy Science as a cult.'" In response to our protest, reporter Shinogi said, "I understand that the word 'condemnation' is not in the original text. I will change it to the correct expression," yet this was not actually corrected by the desk in charge, Kei Kusano. This also reveals Shukan Shincho's fabricated journalism. Moreover, the pastor's statement in the BBC article is unclear as to who said it, and it is doubtful whether they even exist, making it an article without any basis or explanation, which is unworthy of legitimate Western journalism. Naturally, our organization is not a cult, and we have protested to the BBC through the International Public Relations Division for writing such an article.

Rapid increase in believers in Africa

In Uganda and other parts of Africa, the number of believers is rapidly increasing. Three television stations, including Uganda's national broadcaster, broadcast President Ryuho Okawa's lecture live, with an estimated 5 million people listening simultaneously, and including rebroadcasts, 7 million people listened. Furthermore, an estimated 3 million people listened to the lecture in South Sudan, and it continues to be broadcast in Ghana, Benin, and other countries, with millions of people in each country listening. The reason is that Christians and Muslims are impressed by our teachings of "love," "prosperity based on self-help efforts," and "overcoming religious barriers to unite all people," which some old religious figures may not understand. In fact, pastors from Christian churches have already started joining locally.

As with previous articles, we will continue to protest strongly against the Shukan Shincho editorial department. Additionally, we encourage many people to read "Research on the Demon Nesting in Shukan Shincho open_in_new" and "Shukan Shincho Editor-in-Chief: Demon Radiation Contamination open_in_new" to expose the reality of malicious journalism to the world and advance the cause of justice.

Director of Public Relations Division, Happy Science Group, Nobuyuki Watanabe
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