Politics and Religion in Postwar Japan: Focusing on the Relationships between Political Parties and Religious Groups

Panel session on “Rethinking the History of Religions in Postwar Japan from a Post-Secular Perspective” at XXI World Cogress of the International Association for the History of Religions, August 24, 2015, Erfurt, Germany.

To understand Japanese secularism, one needs to closely examine the relationship between political parties and religious groups. Research in this area, despite its importance, has been limited. Besides growing secularization of postwar Japan, one of the factors inhibiting religious issues from entering public discussions seems to be the constitutional principle that politics and religions should be separated. After introducing different types of connection between political parties and religious organizations, I will focus on the evolution of partnership between Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito Party. It is common knowledge that the latter has been supported by Soka Gakkai, but the influence of Shinto Seiji Renmei on LDP remains largely unknown. I’d like to propose that State Shinto has haunted the memories of this organization and that, recently, Komeito has shown tolerance towards the right to collective self-defense proclaimed by LDP while its alliance, Soka Gakkai, is committed to upholding peace.

参考URL : http://www.iahr2015.org/iahr/2016.html