• last year
Ryūhō Ōkawa, leader of the Japanese Happy Science religion, was the self-proclaimed reincarnation of Jesus Christ, Elohim and…Yoda. He died earlier this year, leaving behind a complex legacy. From Wall-Street trader to founder of the controversial religion, Okawa was a savvy businessman who is said to have used this know-how to create a money-making machine disguised as spirituality.

While Happy Science boasts over 12 million followers worldwide,the real number is likely much lower. Perhaps that’s because members had to give donations of up to $400 at a time for ‘blessings’. The cult is known for bizarre anime, a political party calling for the remilitarization of Japan and celebrity seances with figures like Margaret Thatcher. In 2020, the cult minimized the dangers of COVID and said it was caused by UFOs.

But what will the cult do now without its supreme leader?

Host
Yasna Vismale

Producer
Stephanie Tangkilisan

Editor-In-Chief
Keshia Hannam

Researcher
Manal Ahmed

Director of Photography
Boya Sun

Editor
Evander Arther

Animator
Fajar Alkan

Graphic Design
Samuel Kang
Fitra Pratama
Annie Zhao

Additional Archival Material
Ryuho Okawa
Wikimedia
Britannica
Observer
Happy Science Los Angeles Temple
DW News
Getty Images
Youtube/Nhuck Theduck
Happy Science
Nat Geo
Catholic.com
Awareness Space
ExpressNews Vietnam
Happy Science Official
Twitter/@mrjeffu
Real Estate Tokyo
Youtube/FCCJ Channel

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Transcript
00:00 This 66-year-old Japanese man was apparently the grand reincarnation of Buddha, Jesus Christ,
00:05 Elohim, and Yoda.
00:06 Yep, that's right, this Yoda, Ryuho Okawa, was the self-proclaimed supreme being of the world
00:12 and the leader of Japan's happy science religion.
00:14 He died in March of this year, but he leaves behind an interesting legacy.
00:18 His organization boasts over 12 million followers worldwide,
00:21 but insiders have said the number of followers is more like 30,000.
00:24 The cult even made an anime.
00:26 But it's not all wisdom and cartoons.
00:28 In fact, there's a sinister side of happy science that many don't know about.
00:31 This darker side is obsessed with Japan's military,
00:34 its so-called political threats, and even America's far right.
00:37 So what exactly is the happy science cult and what damage has it caused?
00:41 I'm Yaza Vismala. I'm Asian and Black.
00:43 I'm an author, composer, and content creator.
00:45 This is EST Uncovered.
00:46 In the happy science world, there are celebrity seances with
00:57 figures like Margaret Thatcher and Bashar al-Assad.
01:01 COVID was unleashed by a UFO to punish the communists.
01:04 Oh, and Donald Trump, he's the reincarnation of George Washington.
01:07 The organization reportedly makes 45 million dollars annually.
01:11 But this all began in the decades after the Second World War,
01:15 when struggling Japan saw a surge in fringe religions.
01:19 Happy science was one of them.
01:20 In the late 1980s, Okawa left his life as a Wall Street trader and founded that religion.
01:25 At only 24 years old, when he supposedly went through the Great Enlightenment,
01:29 sensing an invisible presence in his room, he was compelled to write words on paper,
01:33 as if the pen had a life of its own.
01:36 The words he wrote? "Good news, good news," over and over again.
01:40 Over the next week, he continued to receive messages like this
01:44 from Buddhist priests and philosophers, then Confucius, Moses, and even Jesus Christ himself.
01:48 But despite the fact that Okawa rebranded himself as a man of spirituality,
01:53 he never really stopped being a businessman.
01:55 Happy Science is a melting pot of religions.
01:58 It draws from Christianity, Buddhism, New Age, spirituality, and even Greek mythology.
02:02 And it sustains its influence through a large media empire.
02:06 For one, it has a production company that's released 25 movies in 27 years.
02:12 From documentaries, to romance, to 10 big anime films,
02:15 even with popular studios like Kyoto Animations.
02:18 Only by teaching the truth of the universe can we truly save people from their unhappiness.
02:23 I'll teach you the truth of the power of the god Prometheus when he is made angry!
02:27 The messaging is very simple.
02:30 Recycled over and over again, El Cantar has shaped the world,
02:33 and humanity must fight against devilish nations.
02:36 How can the world possibly be saved from total destruction?
02:40 The doors to a new age shall be opened.
02:43 I will bestow upon you the sacred ritual.
02:48 The film The Rebirth of Buddha also shows the idea of reincarnated god,
02:52 strangely similar to what Okawa thought of himself.
02:54 If you defile and disobey the teachings of the living Buddha,
02:58 that is the same as rejecting the great spirit of the universe.
03:04 Then there's the books. Lots and lots of them.
03:09 In 2011, Okawa held the Guinness World Record of most books written by a person in one year,
03:14 and sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
03:16 His books and movies promote the idea that militarism and authoritarianism government
03:21 pave the way for love and peace.
03:23 And the messaging is heavily anti-China and anti-Korea.
03:26 Their nationalistic party, the Happiness Realization Party,
03:34 also calls for the re-militarization of Japan.
03:37 When Okawa wasn't spreading nationalist agenda at home, though,
03:41 he was busy cooking conservative propaganda about places outside Japan, like the US.
03:45 Just look at this footage of Happy Sciencers shouting pro-Trump slogans
03:49 and claiming he actually won the 2020 elections.
03:52 This protest happened in Tokyo, more than 6,000 miles away from America,
03:57 and it came after months of spreading relentless fake news on YouTube channels.
04:01 If that's not enough, look how shady the organization is financially.
04:05 A lot of its money comes from member donations,
04:08 and members have to pay to advance within the group.
04:11 Critics call it a pyramid scheme, but Happy Science says it's all for the sake of God.
04:15 During the early days of the pandemic, the organization also sold miracle vaccines.
04:20 Essentially just blessings for up to a whopping $400,
04:24 and even COVID-themed CDs and DVDs.
04:27 All while it told its followers that COVID was nothing to worry about
04:30 and also refused to take it seriously.
04:32 According to Okawa-san, he himself lived like a Hollywood star in Tokyo Glam district,
04:36 Shirokane, in a four-story mansion with a pool, sauna, and tennis courts.
04:40 But Happy Science isn't some wacky or laughable cult existing in a vacuum.
04:45 It's estimated there are around 2,000 cults operating in Japan,
04:48 with between 10 and 20% of the population having links, mostly through religious groups.
04:54 So much so that the Japan Society for Cult Prevention and Recovery was established in 1995
05:00 after an attack by another famous cult, Oomu Shinrikyo.
05:04 Cult thinking isn't as isolated as we may think.
05:07 And if Happy Science's website is to be believed,
05:10 it has 10,000 branches, temples, and missionary centers
05:14 all over the world with the potential of even more in the future.
05:16 Happy Science is far from unique or harmless.
05:19 It's darker and more cultish than it is happy or scientific.
05:23 But what does it have in store now without its supreme leader?
05:26 Well, we'll just have to find out and see.
05:30 [Music]