Happy Science

On 15 July 1986, Ryuho Okawa resigned from his position at TOMEN Corporation (now Toyota Tsusho) to found his own organization on October 6, which he dubbed Happy Science; the Japanese government did not certify it as a religious organization until 7 March 1991. According to Ryuho Okawa, its aim is "to bring happiness to humanity by spreading truth". Before its foundation, Ryuho Okawa had published various books of "spiritual messages" that claim to channel the words spoken by religious and historical figures such as Jesus Christ, Confucius and Nichiren. In 1987, he printed The Laws of the Sun, The Golden Laws, and The Laws of Eternity, forming the core textbooks of Happy Science, along with its fundamental sutra The Dharma of the Right Mind.

General headquarters, worship facilities, and missionary sites are located in Japan and other countries. Worship facilities are called Shoja (精舎 or vihara in Sanskrit) or Shoshinkan (正心館). In 1994, the first overseas branch, "Happiness Science USA" was established in New York. The organisation has branches in several countries including South Korea, Brazil, Uganda, the UK, Australia, Germany, India and Singapore. In addition to places of worship, Happy Science also operates two boarding schools in Nasu and Ōtsu, Japan.

Controversy

Happy Science is widely regarded as a cult and one of many controversial Japanese new religions (shinshūkyō). Through the 1990s the group had a bitter rivalry with Aum Shinrikyo, culminating in a failed assassination attempt on leader Ryuho Okawa using the nerve agent VX injected into the air conditioning system of Okawa's car. It was one of many VX attacks by Aum members leading up to the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack, which killed 14 and injured more than 5,000 people.

Happy Science has also released promotional videos claiming, without evidence, that North Korea and the People's Republic of China are plotting the nuclear destruction of Japan. The group has sold "spiritual vaccines", falsely claiming that they prevent and cure COVID-19, advertised virus-related blessings at rates from US$100 to over US$400, and sold coronavirus-themed DVDs and CDs of Okawa lecturing, which make false claims of supposedly boosting immunity, as of April 2020. After initially defying physical distancing measures, it later closed its New York temple, announcing that it had administered their fraudulent vaccines remotely.

In February 2017, actress Fumika Shimizu abruptly retired from her former entertainment production agency amidst multiple filming projects for a full-time role in Happy Science, declaring she had been a member of the group since childhood, under the influence of her parents, both of whom were longtime believers in Happy Science.

Okawa's son and potential successor, Hiroshi Okawa, left the movement and is now one of its outspoken critics. In an article in The New York Times, he commented, "I believe what my father does is complete nonsense". His father has denounced Hiroshi as "demonic" and possessed by devils and the group has sued him for defamation. In a 2022 interview with The World, Hiroshi described Happy Science as a "cult". Regarding Ryuho Okawa's spiritual channeling sessions, Hiroshi said "It's just a performance". Hiroshi also estimated the number of Happy Science members to be around 13,000. It should be noted, however, that Hiroshi has lost several defamation lawsuits filed by Happy Science and related organizations.