Soka Gakkai lay Buddhist group leader Ikeda dies at 95

Daisaku Ikeda, the longtime leader of the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai, one of the largest religious groups in Japan, and founder of Komeito party, the junior coalition partner of the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, died of old age Wednesday, the group said. He was 95.Ikeda died at a Soka Gakkai facility in Tokyo, the group said. He became the third president of Soka Gakkai, with a claimed membership of over 8.27 million households, in 1960. The group provides a powerful electoral base for Komeito.Ikeda established Komeito's predecessor political group in 1961 and formed…READ FULL ARTICLE