Master:Today is a memorial day for Happy Science. It is the 26th anniversary of setting up our group and, in addition to that, the kickoff day of our new animation movie, The Mystical Laws.

1. Why do we need to pursue Justice besides Love?

Today’s theme is “Love and Justice.” It’s not so easy, and it’s a new theme for us. We have already talked a lot regarding love. You already know about the Fourfold Path: love, wisdom, self-reflection, and progress. These are very important in our group. You have also heard already that love is forgiveness, love is mercy, love is to give something to another person, and not to take from others.

But now, here, we have another problem: justice. It’s an urgent point for the Japanese now. Right now, in Japan, Happy Science and the Happiness Realization Party are fighting against invading powers. It is as expressed in our new movie, The Mystical Laws. The Godom Empire, although a fictional country, has a model of course; China and its next emperor, Xi Jinping. They are aiming at expanding their empire and are causing a lot of trouble around Asia; for example, in the Philippines and Vietnam, as well as their territorial sea, and of course, in Japan.

2. Japan is facing two issues:
a. Takeshima

Japan has had two major issues since this August. One is the Takeshima islands; the Takeshima islands in Shimane Prefecture, Japan. It is called Dokdo in South Korea. South Korea has been governing it, in reality, for the last several decades ever since they set up the Yi Seungman Line after World War II. Back then, we Japanese did not have the Self-Defense Army, so we could not do anything about it. The setting up of the Yi Seungman Line was followed by President Yi Seungman’s declaration that the Takeshima belonged to South Korea.

An alliance between America and Japan was formed by the San Francisco Peace Treaty. The United States of America, of course, thought then that the Takeshima belonged to Japan. However, Korean people were taught that Takeshima is Dokdo and it belongs to South Korea, and that it was occupied by Japan in 1905 before being merged with Japan in 1910. They say that was the first step of intrusion by Japan.

Yet, Japanese history proves otherwise. Takeshima belonged to Japan even before the Edo period, but no one occupied that island in those times. The argument is very urgent and infuriating but it is a very complex issue. South Korea has never given up their occupation of the island because that is the symbol of their independence.

3. Japan is facing two issues:
b. the Senkaku islands

Another issue is the Senkaku islands – also known as the Senkaku islets, because they are a group of small islands. This has been a very serious problem in the past two months because China sent a lot of their vessels, military vessels, around these islets for surveillance. They are saying that those Senkaku islets also belong to China. Japanese people lived on those Senkaku islands or islets for 1,800 years, and established a fishing industry or caught birds to make beautiful feathers that go on the top of a lady’s hat.

There were Japanese people on these islands. Also, the Republic of China sent their letter of thanks 90 years ago, to the Senkaku people, for the rescue of Chinese people. Therefore, China also agreed that Senkaku belonged to Japan.

In 1968, there was a discovery of an abundance of crude oil below the bottom of the Sea of Japan surrounding the Senkaku islets. So, China suddenly changed their attitude and, since 1970, began arguing that the Senkaku islands originally belonged to China. Hence, Japanese people do not agree about this matter. The Japanese coastguard has been surveying this area, in reality, for more than 40 years. That is why Prime Minister Noda said that they belong to Japan and we will not give that power or right to China. The Senkaku islands originally belonged to a private Japanese person, so Japan bought the rights to these islands as national properties in order to protect against the intrusion of China and sometimes Taiwan.

The People’s Liberation Army has been moving around the Senkaku islands. This is a matter in dispute in the United Nations; the Japanese Prime Minister Noda made a speech about the Senkaku islands, without mentioning the names of other countries, and said that we will not abandon our sovereignty over the islands. A representative of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, stated seven times that Japan stole the islands. It was a very infuriating argument and we were astonished by those words.

4. The Happiness Realization Party has already called for the buildup of national self-defense since 3 years ago

The above two issues will not be solved easily, because there is some kind of struggle in the balance of power between large Asian countries. So Japan and China, two economically giant countries, are actually rivals. South Korea, too, is attacking Japan’s economy. There lie economic profits as well as the sovereignty rights over the islands. Thus, these problems are extremely complicated.

Furthermore, if the people who are in charge of this matter, exercise their power, they can cause a dispute, start a conflict or even start a war.

The United States of America is now saying something about this matter; for example, regarding the Senkaku islands. According to Article 5 of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, it declares that if a territory of Japan is intruded or attacked by another country, then the United States of America will fight together with Japan. Their Defense Secretary clearly stated that. So we, the Happiness Realization Party, have been making a movement regarding self-defense all over Japan.

Three years ago when our party was formed, the self-defense issue was regarded as a very minor argument. The two dominant parties, LDP (Liberal Democratic Party) and DPJ (Democratic Party of Japan), did not mention the self-defense of Japan and the urgency of it three years ago, during their general election. Our party, on the other hand, insisted that it was very important and that foreign affairs will be the main focus for the next three or four years.

Our prediction was correct and now the minds of the Japanese people are changing. Recently, there was an election within the LDP. There were five candidates and they all said that focusing on self-defense is absolutely essential. Prime Minister Noda, the third prime minister of DPJ, also bent the direction of their party to almost the same as that of the conservative party. Therefore, almost all the parties in Japan are now assuming that self-defense is very important, just as we predicted three and a half years ago.