Richard Bertschinger

Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is an international Nichiren Buddhist organization founded in 1975 by Daisaku Ikeda, as an umbrella organization of Soka Gakkai. It is run by two vice-presidents, including Hiromasa Ikeda, son of the founder. It claims 12 million adherents, but scholars claim the number is overestimated. Recent scholarship estimates Soka Gakkai believers around 2.5 million people in Japan. SGI is one of the 6000 organizations awarded a consultative status with the United Nations E…