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]
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