Tokyo [Japan], November 19: Daisaku Ikeda, the longtime leader of Japan's major lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai, has died, local media reported on Saturday.
Ikeda, honorary president of the Soka Gakkai, died on Wednesday evening from natural causes at age 95 at his home in Tokyo, Kyodo News reported.
Ikeda became the third president of the Soka Gakkai in 1960, expanding the organization and making it one of the country's largest religious organizations. He resigned from the post in 1979 and became its honorary president.
Ikeda was also actively involved in politics, establishing the precursor to Japan's Komeito party, the current government's junior coalition partner, in 1961.
The organization engaged in frequent educational and cultural exchanges with China over the past years.
Source: Xinhua
