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THE STORY
In February 1996, Mrs. Nobuko Nobuhira wrote an article that appeared in the Japanese weekly tabloid Shukan Shincho. Mrs. Nobuhira alleged that she was attacked and raped by Mr. Daisaku Ikeda, honorary head of the Soka Gakkai, three times over the course of 18 years from 1973 to 1991. Two other daily tabloids, the Nikkan Gendai and the Yukan Fuji, also picked up the story, based on the Shincho report. This article would be the first of three telling the saga of her alleged abuse and her relationship with the Soka Gakkai.
I Was Raped By Daisaku Ikeda, by Nobuko Nobuhira
Shukan Shincho, Feb. 22, 1996
Mrs. Nobuhira and her husband, Junko, later filed a civil suit against Mr. Ikeda, and in September 1996, the case went to trial.
Certain segments of the Japanese media, always quick to jump on the idea of a scandal involving the Soka Gakkai and Mr. Ikeda, jumped on the story. Even with the extremely serious nature of the charges, and without checking the facts or the history between the Nobuhiras and the Soka Gakkai, the story was published. Neither Mr. Ikeda nor the Soka Gakkai was contacted before the article was printed.
Taking On Goliath, A Buddhist Leader Accused of Rape
Newsweek, Intl. Ed., July 8, 1996
There were few facts that everyone agreed on: the Nobuhiras joined the Soka Gakkai in 1956, during the time of second president Josei Toda. Mrs. Nobuhira became a Vice Women’s Division Chief for the Hokkaido area, a position she held for seven years. Mrs. Nobuhira was also responsible for helping to maintain the Ounuma Training Center. In May 1992, the Soka Gakkai dismissed the Nobuhiras from their leadership positions. In December 1993, the Nobuhiras terminated their relationship with the Soka Gakkai completely.
QUESTIONS
Before even getting to the specifics of the allegations, there is the one obvious question: if these vicious attacks occurred, what took Mrs. Nobuhira so long to speak up? But even in asking that question, there must come a degree of sensitivity.
Statistics on rape are staggering. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a woman is raped every two minutes. And out of those women that are raped, almost 70 percent do not report their attacks to the police. Many women, for a variety of reasons, do not want people to know. One could only imagine that this would be even truer in Japan, where statistically there is not as much violence, and sexual abuse is not so openly discussed. So, giving Mrs. Nobuhira the benefit of the doubt, and accepting her explanation about not wanting to hurt her husband by telling him what happened, you have to look at the allegations and the facts very carefully.
And then there’s the other question: why have the Nobuhiras filed a civil suit and not a criminal one? A criminal suit would seem the quickest and most direct way to pursue the charges. Assisted by the authorities, it would ensure a much more thorough investigation, possibly providing an official vindication for Mrs. Nobuhira against the accusations made about her since the case broke. However, they had decided to file a civil suit (actually, Mr. Nobuhira was the only named complainant, since the statute of limitations had run out for Mrs. Nobuhira to file charges), possibly leaving more questions open than answered.
Woman Denies Political Motive in Japan Rape Suit
Reuters News Service, June 24, 1996
The Soka Gakkai stated that the Nobuhiras did not bring up a criminal suit because there was not enough evidence to support the charges, and the case would be thrown out. Whereas the attorneys for the Nobuhiras argued “that they wanted to retain control of the case and avoid putting Mrs. Nobuhira through the ordeal of recounting the alleged crimes” (Newsweek, Intl. Ed., 7/8/96, p. 29).
But that brings up another question: Didn’t Mrs. Nobuhira open herself up to very specific questions by writing three articles that describe, in detail, what she alleged happened? And didn’t she further open herself up for questions by holding two press conferences to announce her intentions in the courts? If Mr. Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai lied, why not work with the police, and every available resource, to prove it?
THE ACCUSATIONS
The first attack allegedly occurred on June 27, 1973 at the Ounuma Training Center in Hakodate. Mrs. Nobuhira stated that at 9:00 p.m. that evening, Mr. Ikeda attacked her in the 3rd floor bedroom in which he was staying, where Mrs. Nobuhira had been making up the room. According to Mrs. Nobuhira, he entered from an adjoining office, where there was a sliding door that had been left open. She does not recall how long the attack lasted, but she does recall that she escaped to the second floor women’s bathroom. There were no witnesses to the attack or her escape.
According to the Soka Shimpo, the Soka Gakkai Youth Division’s semi-monthly newspaper, on the evening in dispute, Mr. Ikeda was with other Soka Gakkai leaders and dinner guest. They began their evening prayers around 9:30 p.m. and continued discussions on the future of the Soka Gakkai. Mr. Ikeda did not return to his bedroom until after 11:30 p.m. (This has also been verified by the notes of a Seikyo Shimbun reporter that accompanied Mr. Ikeda at that time.)
Further, there was only one building at the training center at that time, and it was occupied with leaders from Tokyo and Sapporo. In Mrs. Nobuhira’s first article about the alleged attacks, she wrote of how detailed the Gakkai Headquarters was in giving instructions for the preparations toward Ikeda’s arrival at the Training Center. In a building with Gakkai Headquarters staff and leaders from different areas, is it possible that no one would have heard or seen this attack?
The second alleged attack, again at the Ounuma Training Center, supposedly took place at 7:30 a.m. in August of 1983 (the exact day has not been specified). Mrs. Nobuhira claims that while she cleaned tables in a “pre-fab building”, the teahouse “Loire,” she was again assaulted. This attack apparently took twenty to thirty minutes, leaving Mrs. Nobuhira “covered with injuries.” Again, no witnesses.
However, according to the Soka Gakkai, a structure of this kind did not exist in August of 1983. A pre-fabricated teahouse named “Loire” was erected as a temporary structure at the Hakodate Training Center in 1982 for an event held there on June 20 that year, but was taken down immediately after the event. Land survey photographs on record with the Japan Government Forestry Agency confirm that no such structure existed on October 2, 1982, or 10 months later, on August 6, 1983, the month of the alleged attack.
After this detail was pointed out, Mrs. Nobuhira did omit “pre-fab building” from the official complaint, leaving the location vague. But in her third article, she proudly proclaims “I was responsible for the tea house, so I, better than anyone else, know full well that it was constructed in 1982.”
The last alleged attack took place on August 16, 1991, and again, at the Ounuma Training Center. Mrs. Nobuhira says that at 7:30 a.m., she was brutally attacked and raped, leaving her bruised and her clothes ripped. Again, no witnesses.
However, according to the published testimony, Mrs. Seiko Futagami gave Mrs. Nobuhira a ride to the training center after dropping her own husband at work. She picked up Mrs. Nobuhira at 8:15 a.m., arriving at the training center at 9:30 a.m. There are also witnesses that have said that they saw Mrs. Nobuhira that day and she did not seem distressed; on the contrary, they say that she appeared to be very composed. Mrs. Nobuhira dismisses these accounts saying that it was her husband that “was transported by car to the Ounuma Training Center,” not any Women’s Division member. Nonetheless, the date was changed on the official complaint, from August 16th to August 17th.
THE NOBUHIRAS IN COURT
There was also the issue of why the Nobuhiras left the Soka Gakkai. According to Mrs. Nobuhira, in May 1992, she sent a 21 page letter to Mr. Ikeda expressing her concern over the Soka Gakkai’s handling of financial contributions from members, the elections in Japan, and Mr. Ikeda’s “shameless behavior” towards her. Mrs. Nobuhira says that four days after she sent the letter, she and her husband were informed that they were dismissed from their positions. “My thirty-six year involvement in Gakkai activities came to an extremely unsatisfactory end.” (Actually, she and her husband remained members of the Soka Gakkai until December 1993.) Mrs. Nobuhira then claims fictitious stories about the Nobuhiras borrowing money began to emerge and lawsuits “jumped out” at them.
The fact of the matter is that the Nobuhiras filed the lawsuit against Mr. Ikeda after they had been ordered to repay loans they had refused to pay from fellow Soka Gakkai members.
Regarding Nobuko Nobuhira’s reference to “fictitious stories” that “jumped out” at them, there are several court decisions that seem to tell a different story. There have been five separate cases resulting in orders for Junko Nobuhira to repay funds.
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Ms. Setsu Takahashi |
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Hakodate District Court orders Junko Nobuhira to repay approximately $100,000. |
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Ruling upheld by Sapporo High Court. |
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Ruling upheld by Sapporo Supreme Court. (May 28, 1996) |
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Ms. Teruko Yamamoto |
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Hakodate District Court orders Junko Nobuhira to repay approximately $45,000. |
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Ruling upheld by Sapporo High Court. |
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Ruling upheld by Sapporo Supreme Court. (May 30, 1996) |
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Ms. Kikue Shimizu |
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Hakodate District Court orders Junko Nobuhira to repay approximately $23,000. |
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Ruling upheld by Sapporo High Court. |
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Ruling upheld by Sapporo Supreme Court. (Nov. 26, 1996) |
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Ms. Shigeko Takaishi |
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Hakodate District Court orders Junko Nobuhira to repay approximately $5,200. |
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Ruling upheld by Sapporo High Court. |
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Ruling upheld by Sapporo Supreme Court. (Oct. 12, 1993) |
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This case is closed. |
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Unnamed Individual |
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Hakodate District Court orders Junko Nobuhira to repay approximately $5,200. |
These cases were either filed or initiated before Mrs. Nobuhira sent her letter to Mr. Ikeda. (The Soka Gakkai says that neither it nor Mr. Ikeda ever received such a letter.)
Testimony of Ms. Setsu Takahashi
Testimony of Ms. Teruko Yamamoto
Testimony of Ms. Kikue Shimizu
Testimony of Ms. Shigeko Takaishi
THE VERDICTS
On May 30, 2000, the Tokyo District Court dismissed the claim of Junko Nobuhira against Daisaku Ikeda. The Court noted that the allegations against Mr. Ikeda had an “extremely weak factual foundation,” and the claim itself was “an abuse of the right of action.” None of the allegations were substantiated and the motives of the Nobuhiras were proven to be based on a grudge they had with the Soka Gakkai.
The Nobuhiras appealed the ruling to the Tokyo High Court and on January 31, 2001, the Court upheld the Tokyo District Court ruling. Again, the Court found “no factual foundation” to support the allegations of sexual assault and concluded that it was the intention of the Nobuhiras to damage the reputation of Mr. Ikeda.
On June 26, 2001, the Supreme Court of Japan dismissed the final appeal of the Nobuhiras. This Court confirmed the rulings that proceeded, finally laying the case to rest.
Nobuhira’s Claims Against Daisaku Ikeda Again Dismissed
Canada NewsWire/Tokyo, May 30, 2000
Tokyo High Court Dismisses Nobuhira’s Appeal
SGI Office of Public Information, Feb. 6, 2002
Nobuhira’s Final Appeal Dismissed: Case Cased
PRNewsire/Tokyo, June 26, 2001
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