Sepia Button Allegations of Involvement in Councilwoman's Death Ruled Groundless
The death of Higashi Murayama Councilwoman Akiyo Asaki in September 1995 was concluded a suicide by investigating police and by the Tokyo public prosecutor's office. Allegations by her family that Soka Gakkai was behind her death were found libelous and without any supporting evidence in a series of court cases between 1995 and 2002.

Topaz Button Nobuhiras' Accusations of Sexual Assault--Ruled "An Abuse of the Right of Action"
In February 1996 the tabloid magazine Shukan Shincho printed a story in which Mrs. Nobuko Nobuhira made allegations of rape against Soka Gakkai's honorary president, Daisaku Ikeda. The allegations, eventually dismissed by the Supreme Court of Japan in June 2001 as "an abuse of the right of action," were made when the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which had ruled Japan for 40 years, had been defeated in Upper House elections for the first time by a coalition that happened to be supported by Soka Gakkai. Vowing to never lose power again, the party exploited Mrs. Nobuhira's allegations to mount a massive anti-Soka Gakkai smear campaign.

Charcoal Gray Button Soka Gakkai Member Clears Name in Tabloid Murder Accusation
In July 1994, a Soka Gakkai member in Hokkaido, Mr. Nobuyuki Shirayama, was accused of intentionally killing a Nichiren Shoshu priest in a premeditated traffic accident. Accusations were made in a tabloid article, in advertisements promoting the tabloid and even in a televised Japanese Diet session. It took him two years before he could clear his name after winning a libel suit against the publisher.

Muted Rasberry Button Nichiren Shoshu High Priest Loses Legal Battle Against Soka Gakkai
In September 2003, Japan's Supreme Court ordered Nichiren Shoshu and its High Priest Nikken Abe to pay Soka Gakkai 4 million yen (approx. US$36,000) for damages following allegations that Soka Gakkai had illegally planted a false entry in a US federal government database.

Grass Button Tabloid Journalist Okkotsu Found Liable for Defaming Soka Gakkai
Several Japanese journalists make their living writing sensational articles critical of Soka Gakkai. Chief amongst them is Masao Okkotsu, a freelance journalist. Of the 67 articles that Okkotsu had published up until 2002, 65 were articles criticizing Soka Gakkai. Between 1999 and 2003, Soka Gakkai brought a number of libel cases against Okkotsu and the publishers of weekly tabloids to which he had contributed articles.