Master Okawa, the founder and CEO of the Happy Science Group, held a lecture entitled “Choosing Light” on the 14th in Sendai Shoshinkan, a Happy Science facility located in Sendai in the Miyagi prefecture. Approximately 1200 people attended the lecture. The event was broadcast to the Northeast and Northern Kanto region using Happy Science’s relay network.

March 11th marked the 9th year since the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Sendai Shoshinkan, which hosted the lecture, is a religious facility built on July 15th, 2012, praying for the restoration of the Tohoku region (Northeastern Japan) and the repose of the tens of thousands of the deceased’s souls.

In the opening, Master Okawa stated that unexpected events such as natural disasters and the pandemic with COVID-19 are apt to happen, but it is especially important in these times to try to perceive Heaven’s will and be awed by a being that surpasses all of humanity.

The auditorium occasionally filled with applauses and laughter.

China Tries to Shift Responsibilities to Other Nations

Even though the new coronavirus epidemic spread from China, the Chinese government is implementing regulations such as putting people from Japan in quarantine for 14 days and the temporary pause of visa exemptions. The Chinese press is portraying Japan as a dangerous nation who’s facing a serious spread of the coronavirus.

Master Okawa criticized these policies that attempt to shift responsibilities to other nations and declared, “China was the origin of the coronavirus. Please don’t forget this fact.”

Prior to this lecture, Master Okawa recorded Spiritual Investigation: The New Coronavirus Epidemic Originating in China in February. This included a statement claiming that the virus came from the biological weapons research facility in Wuhan, China.

Master Okawa responded to China starting to spread its theory that it was the U.S. Army that attacked Wuhan with some kind of virus by asserting, “If they are going to say that, a public investigation should be held right in front of the media’s cameras with WHO going into Wuhan’s bacterial virus research facility.”

Japan’s Late Travel Restrictions Caused Coronavirus to Spread Worldwide

Right after the new coronavirus started spreading, the Japanese government restricted travel from the Hubei Province, the province that Wuhan is part of, but still allowed travel from other cities in China. This was around the time when the Chinese authorities closed Wuhan and the fleeing population dropped by around 6 million people. Master Okawa pointed out that “[the Chinese people] often traveled to other countries via Japan, which greatly helped the virus spread around the world.”

Regarding the loss caused by the Japanese government’s late response, Master Okawa criticized that “it has to be said that economic benefits came right at the top of their priorities,” and that they shouldn’t try to be a “nice person.” With this in mind, Master Okawa moved on to present his outlook toward COVID-19.

Factories in China Should Be Brought Back to Local Japan

In addition to the U.S.-China trade war, COVID-19 has caused limitations in people’s travels, and imports and exports are faltering. Mater Okawa stated that “the assumptions behind the belief that the world is held together by trade and that things will go well if there are no war is crumbling.” Therefore, “people need to relearn to examine whether nations can sustain themselves in times of extreme circumstances.”

To do this, he suggested the establishment of a self-sustaining food plan and bringing back factories that were pulled by lower wages in foreign countries back into the nation. “Building factories in local areas is extremely important in maintaining a country,” he stated.