TOKYO – Even by the standards of the supposed kooks and conmen commonly found on the CPAC list, one of this year’s speakers has an extraordinary background that includes facing an organization that claimed – in all seriousness – to be able to channel Donald’s guardian deity Trump through a magical environment.
Former Japanese political leader Happy Science Jay “Hiroaki” Aeba is on the bench on Friday.
Like Trump, Aeba has been accused of cheating at home, but he doesn’t think that should be imposed on him.
I asked Aeba for clarification, but I received no answer. He is now the head of the Japanese Conservative Union, although he said last year that he is still a believer in Happy Science.
Aeba’s guru, Ryuho Okawa, claims to be a Venusian god named El Cantare, who created life on earth – and is also a reincarnation of the Buddha, in case you’re wondering. Okawa is not only a brilliant dresser and a self-proclaimed deity, but says he has the power to channel the spirits of any person, living or dead. He claims that he had a great awakening in 1981 and later founded the religion of Happy Science (Kofuku no Kagaku) in 1986. In American terms, he is like Billy Graham met Shirley MacLaine. He channeled the spirits of Jesus, Kim Jong II, and in 2016 even managed to get an exclusive interview with the guardian spirit of Donald Trump.
In that amazing meeting, Trump’s spirit correctly stated, through Okawa, that he would be the next president.
You’ve never seen anything like the spirit of Donald Trump who owns a Japanese visionary and discusses New York cheesecake as a political metaphor. Too bad God (Okawa) himself can’t get to CPAC, but at least his former disciple, Aeba, speaks.
The CPAC, which runs through Sunday afternoon, showcases the best and brightest of the Republican Party and its allies, such as the insurrection that raises Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri and the usual assortment of foxes and devils from his NewsCorp Rupert Murdoch. Aeba is scheduled to take the podium immediately after Donald Trump Jr. and talk about China’s threat to the US
This will not be the first time Aeba speaks at the event – she even claims to be the first Japanese to speak on the main stage of the event. If you read the online profile of Aeba in English, there does not seem to be any direct lie. at first glance, but there are what the Jesuits would call sins of omission.
He is a self-proclaimed conservative commentator and columnist and president of the Japanese Conservative Union (JCU) that was founded in 2015. The profile says: “Jay attended his first CPAC in 2011 and founded JCU in 2015 as a counterpart to the American Conservative Union (ACU). ). In 2017, JCU and ACU hosted the first international CPAC ever in Tokyo, where experts from across the Indo-Pacific region met to discuss critical issues such as the region’s economic and military security in the face of Chinese expansionism, the threat posed by the nuclear system. North Korea, development and cryptocurrency brand regulationt … So far, JCU and ACU have hosted four Japanese CPACs ”.
All this is true. What his biography does not mention is that Aeba was a member of the Japanese cult of happy science for many years and was also a major figure in creating their political arm, the Happiness Party.
Apparently, the cult of Happy Science teaches that Okawa, the founder, is a god and only by following his teachings can happiness be obtained in this life and the next. They believe in aliens, in reincarnation and in many dimensions. Some of the teachings are modeled on the eighth Buddhist path and preach love, wisdom, and self-reflection. At the same time, however, the cult learns that the Nanjing massacre never happened and that Japan must give up its pacifist constitution, rearm itself to the fullest, and prepare for a cataclysmic war.
A weekly magazine reported the group’s total capital as nearly $ 1.8 billion – money raised from encouraging believers to buy copies of Okawa’s many books, extracting lavish donations from followers and for self-help seminars. organized by the organization. Of course, they also sell prayers and charms. During the pandemic, Happy Science found itself in hot water to sell “cures” for COVID-19.
Happy Science – not just a spiritual power – launched its own political party in 2009, and Aeba was the party’s first leader. He continued to hold the position of head of the research division and held many other positions within the party. In 2011, while attending his first CPAC, he was still an executive member of the Happiness Party and probably began networking with America’s conservative elite in hopes of giving the Happiness Party an aura of legitimacy.
Aeba, who also used the alias Jikido “Jay” Aeba, and sometimes goes by Jay H. Aeba, was born in 1967 and graduated from the elite law division of Keio University in 1989. In 1990, he joined Happy Science and in May 2009 became their political leader. He held the position of head of public relations of the organization. In 2013, he became head of the research and investigation division. In 2015, he apparently left the party and created the Japanese Conservative Union. It is not entirely clear what relationship Aeba had with his former party after the creation of the JCU, but his relationship with Happy Science seems strained – as does Trump’s relationship with the GOP. Although, in an interview published last year in the magazine SEIRON, he said that he is still a believer in happy science.
On April 6, 2020, he changed his name to Hiroaki Aeba. Three days later, on April 9, Happy Science publicly gave up any link to Hiroaki Aeba aka Jikido Aeba and JCU on their website. Why? Possibly because in April last year, two magazines reported on a JCU scandal that appeared to implicate Aeba in possible cryptocurrency fraud. According to the articles, Aeba raised almost nine million dollars to create a virtual currency called Liberty. In his fundraising efforts, he used a photo of himself and Donald Trump in a pamphlet handed to potential investors. The photo was enough to convince many of its credibility.
The Japanese press reports that it is still a mystery about what happened to the nearly nine million dollars in funding used to create the virtual currency and which led to internal struggles within the JCU.
JCU told The Daily Beast in an email about the alleged misconduct of cryptocurrencies, “Jay [Aeba] and the JCU continues to address and address this issue with the cooperation of experts, including lawyers. ”
One thing is for sure: the photo of Trump and Aeba is actually real.
There are some similarities between Aeba and Trump. They are both political opportunists, charismatic speakers, skilled at using celebrity connections to enhance their image – and both have been accused of fraud. For Aeba, his photos and meetings with Trump gave him an air of prestige and access among Japanese conservatives. He may have used this for his own personal gain rather than for the benefit of the cult of Happy Science, but it seems to work well.
While Aeba was a member of the Happiness Achievement Party, the political arm of the cult, he gave them access to the wealth and influence of the Republican Party. JCU told The Daily Beast: “Since its inception [in 2015] JCU has never had any relationship with Happy Science (HS) or Happy Happiness Realization Party (HRP). As for President Jay Aeba, he has now completely left HS and HRP. As for his personal religious belief, we do not know why JCU has a policy of religious freedom for all members and staff. ”
Trump supporters at the CPAC may be worried that the Republican Party is trying to move from the Trump era, but even if he returns to the presidency in 2024, Trump is mortal, unlike cult leader Okawa, he does not claim that she will be reincarnated again and again and live forever.
That is where the cult of Happy Science comes from. Even after he dies, Trump’s ghost can continue to appeal through a magical environment for years to come.
Now, isn’t that something to be happy about?