TOKYO – Even by the standards of the alleged kooks and tricks commonly found on the CPAC list, one of this year’s speakers has extraordinary training that includes leading an organization that claimed – in all seriousness – to channel the divinity guardian of Donald Trump through a magical means.
The former political leader of a Japanese cult called Happy Science, Jay “Hiroaki” Aeba, is on sale for Friday.
Like Trump, Aeba has been accused of fraud at home, but he doesn’t think it should be held against him.
We asked Aeba for clarification, but got no response. He is now the head of the Japanese Conservative Union, although he said last year that he was 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, just in case you were wondering. Okawa is not only an elegant dressing room and a self-proclaimed deity, but she says she has the power to channel the spirits of any person, living or dead. He claims to have had a great awakening in 1981 and later founded the religion Happy Science (Kofuku no Kagaku) in 1986. In American terms, this is how Billy Graham crossed paths with Shirley MacLaine. He has channeled the spirits of Jesus, Kim Jong II, and in 2016 even got an exclusive interview with Donald Trump’s guardian spirit.
At that startling meeting, Trump’s spirit correctly stated, through Okawa, that he would be the next president.
You’ve never seen anything like Donald Trump’s spirit owning a Japanese visionary and discussing the New York cheesecake as a political metaphor. Too bad God himself (Okawa) can’t get to the CPAC, but at least his former disciple, Aeba, speaks.
The CPAC, which runs through Sunday afternoon, features the best and brightest Republican party and its allies, such as the insurrection aroused by Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and the usual assortment of NewsCorp foxes and demons by Rupert Murdoch. Aeba is scheduled to take the podium just after Donald Trump Jr. and talk about China’s threat to the United States
This will not be the first time Aeba speaks at the event, in fact she claims to be the first Japanese to speak on the main stage of the event. If you read Aeba’s online profile in English, there doesn’t seem to be any direct lies. at first glance, but there is what the Jesuits would call some sins of omission.
He is a self-proclaimed Conservative commentator and columnist and president of the Japanese Conservative Union (JCU) which was founded in 2015. The profile says, “Jay attended his first CPAC in 2011 and founded JCU in 2015 as a counterpart to the North Conservative- American Union (ACU) In 2017, JCU and ACU hosted the first international CPAC in Tokyo, where experts from across the Indo-Pacific met to discuss issues as critical as the region’s economic and military security in the face of expansionism. China, the nuclear core, North Korea ‘s threat, 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 science happy for many years, and was also an important figure in the creation of his political arm, the Happiness Realization Party.
Apparently, the cult Happy Science teaches that Okawa, the founder, is a god, and only by following his teachings can one obtain happiness in this life and in the next. They believe in aliens, reincarnation and multiple dimensions. Some of the teachings are modeled on the eight Buddhist path and preach love, wisdom, and self-reflection. At the same time, the cult also teaches that the Nanjing massacre never happened and that Japan must undo its pacifist constitution, rearm itself to the fullest, and prepare for a cataclysmic war.
A weekly magazine reported that the group’s total capital was approximately $ 1.8 billion – money derived from encouraging believers to buy copies of Okawa’s many books, extracting lavish donations from followers, and seminars from self-help performed 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, which doesn’t just settle for being a spiritual power, launched its own political party in 2009 and Aeba was the party’s first leader. He became the head of the research division and held many other positions within the party. In 2011, while attending his first CPAC, he remained an executive member of the Happiness Realization Party and presumably began networking with the conservative American elite in hopes of winning the Happiness Party a aura of legitimacy.
Aeba, who also used the nickname 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 headquarters and in May 2009 became its political leader. He was the head of public relations for the organization. In 2013 he became the head of the research and investigation division. In 2015, he apparently left the party and created the Japanese Conservative Union. It’s not entirely clear what relationship Aeba has had with his former party since the creation of JCU, but his relationship with Happy Science seems strained, as has Trump’s relationship with the Republican Party. Although, in an interview published last year in SEIRON magazine, he said he was still a Happy Science believer.
On April 6, 2020, he changed his name to Hiroaki Aeba. Three days later, on April 9, Happy Science publicly disallowed any connection to Hiroaki Aeba, also known as Jikido Aeba and the JCU, on its website. Because? Possibly because in April last year two magazines reported a scandal within the JCU that appeared to implicate Aeba in possible cryptocurrency-related fraud. According to the articles, Aeba raised about 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 out to potential investors. The photo was enough to convince many of its credibility.
The Japanese media report that it is still a mystery as to what happened to the nearly nine million dollars in funding used to create the virtual currency and which has led to internal fighting within the JCU.
JCU told The Daily Beast in an email about the alleged cryptocurrency misconduct, “Jay [Aeba] and JCU proceed to address and address this issue with the cooperation of experts, including lawyers. “
One thing is certain: the photo of Trump and Aeba is really real.
There are some similarities between Aeba and Trump. Both are political opportunists, charismatic speakers, experts in using celebrity connections to enhance their image, and both have been accused of fraud. For Aeba, his photographs and meetings with Trump have given him an air of prestige and access among Japanese arch-conservatives. You may have used it for your own personal benefit rather than for the benefit of the happy science cult, but it seems to be working well.
While Aeba was a member of the Happiness Realization Party, the political arm of the cult, it 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 the Happiness Realization Party (HRP). As for President Jay Aeba, he has now also completely left the HS and HRP organization. In terms of their personal religious belief, we don’t know because the JCU has a policy of religious freedom for all members and staff. “
Trump supporters in the CPAC may worry that the Republican party will try to move from the Trump era, but even if he returns as a presidential candidate for 2024, Trump is deadly, unlike the cult leader Okawa, does not claim that he will be reincarnated again and again and lives forever.
There the cult of happy science is useful. Even after his death, Trump’s ghost may continue to call the shots through a magical medium for years to come.
Now, isn’t that something to be happy about?