Headline: 
“Fear the wrath of the heavenly gods!” “Omens must not be taken lightly.”

Subhead:
“The situation where the great slanderers of the Law are in league with the political power—the oppression of the true Law invites the three calamities and seven disasters.”

In “Reply to Niiama,” Nichiren Daishonin states: 

“Slanderous monks will fill the land of Jambudvipa, so that all the heavenly gods will demonstrate their rage, comets will appear in the sky, and the earth will quake like the movement of huge waves. Innumerable disasters and calamities, such as drought, fires, floods, gales, epidemics, famine, and war, will all occur at once. The people of Jambudvipa will don armor and take up bows and staves, but since none of the Buddhas, bodhisattvas, or benevolent deities will be able to help them, they will all die and fall like rain into the hell of incessant suffering. At this very time, rulers can save their countries and the people be freed from calamities and in their next life escape the great fires of hell if they embrace and believe in this great mandala of the five characters” (WND, 468). 

“The eminent priests who are possessed by evil demons will deceive the ruler, his ministers, and the common people into slandering and abusing this man, attacking him with sticks, staves, shards, and rubble, and condemning him to exile or death. At that time, Shakyamuni, Many Treasures, and the Buddhas of the ten directions will speak to the great bodhisattvas who sprang up from the earth, and the great bodhisattvas will in turn report to Brahma, Shakra, the gods of the sun and moon, and the four heavenly kings. As a result, strange occurrences and unusual disturbances will appear in abundance in the heavens and on earth. If there are countries whose rulers fail to heed this warning, then the Buddhas and the great bodhisattvas will order neighboring countries to attack the evil rulers and evil priests of those countries. Then great struggles and disputes such as have never been known in the past will break out in Jambudvipa” (WND, 542).

1. At a certain time, those of heretical religions who slander the Law fill the whole nation.
2. Those of heretical religions are joined with the national powers of the time.
3. Backed by their great political influence, they launch attacks against the correct teacher of the True Law through words and violence and instigate oppression such as fabricating charges against him. 
4. To punish them, the heavenly gods cause the three calamities and the seven disasters to befall the nation all the more. 
5. The collusion of heretical religions and the government authority remains strong, and the heavenly gods are unable to influence the situation.
6. At that time, the powerful heavenly gods of other lands are moved to cause the disaster of foreign invasion, and unprecedented great conflict occurs on a global scale. 

Subhead: “The Gakkai’s influence extends to the police and the judicial power; now is the time when ‘none of the heavenly gods is able to help.’”

Regarding (1), after 1991, Japan’s largest religious group, that is, the Soka Gakkai, rebelled against Nichiren Shoshu and transformed itself from a lay organization of the true Law into the worst organization that slanders the Law. With this, Japan has literally become a land filled with great slanderers of the Law. 

Next, regarding (2), the Soka Gakkai and the Komei Party joined the coalition government under Prime Minister Hosokawa with the Japan New Party (Jpn Nihon shinto) and others in 1993. In 1994, they joined the New Frontier Party (Jpn Shinshinto). Their participation in the ruling coalition, however, was prevented by conscientious critics of the Gakkai. In August 1999, the Komei Party finally became part of a ruling coalition with the Liberal Democratic Party. Although this coalition was at first expected to be short-lived, they have been sinking their roots into the core of the political power structure. 

Since the coalition government of the LDP and the Komei Party was established and the Gakkai was joined with the state power, (3) has become a reality. In other words, Gakkai members can now attack their opponents as they please. No matter how much those who oppose the Gakkai complained, the police would not crack down on the Gakkai. (Due to limited space, however, the actual incidents will not be mentioned here.) 

On the other hand, if anyone tries to distribute fliers critical of the Gakkai, they quickly file criminal charges. (Of course, there is not a single incident of a conviction.) Receiving complaints, the police have conducted repeated investigations and raids involving many law-enforcement officers, causing unjust oppression, which can be only described as harassment. 

The Gakkai’s political power naturally extends its influence on judicial power. In March 2000, in the trial of the fabricated Seattle incident, presiding Judge Fumio Shimoda of the Tokyo District Court completely ignored clear evidence and testimony presented by Nichiren Shoshu, and based on the sole reason that the testimony of one Gakkai woman (Clow) was “full of truthfulness,” handed down an unjust verdict that defamed High Priest Nikken. 

Also, regarding the forged picture trial, after the Tokyo District Court had handed down a verdict against Daisaku Ikeda and the Soka Gakkai in 1999, in the appeal the Tokyo High Court, after admitting the illegal conduct of the Gakkai’s defamation, reversed the earlier verdict and ruled against Nichiren Shoshu, citing a ridiculous reason of the “inappropriateness” of Nichiren Shoshu being the plaintiff instead of High Priest Nikken himself.

One journalist who observed this commented, “I now see the future trend. Under the current administration, Nichiren Shoshu should not expect anything from the judicial system.” It must be said that this unfair trend was established after the Gakkai and the Komei Party were allowed to enter the ruling coalition. 

Although we are powerless before state power, the benevolent heavenly gods will protect those who believe in and practice the true Law and will work to punish the tyranny perpetrated by the slanderers of the Law. For this reason, as mentioned in (4), in recent times, the three calamities and the seven disasters have become all the more rampant Japan. 

Still, the Gakkai, without correcting its slanderous acts, is sinking its roots deeper into the ruling coalition. As mentioned in (5), it may be said that now is the time when “none of the benevolent deities is able to help.”

At such time, there is a great possibility that the situation described in (6) may become a reality. Rather, if the Buddha’s words are true, it will not be merely a possibility.

Subhead: “Terrorism in U.S. is the omen of world war; the protection from the heavenly gods comes from strong faith and practice.”

On September 11, simultaneous, multiple terrorist attacks took place in the United States. Everyone was transfixed by these shocking images. They were neither the scenes from movies, nor a world event across the ocean that has nothing to do with us. Terrorist groups are already targeting Japan. Moreover, depending on how the situation will develop from now on, biological and chemical weapons may be used in response to attacks by the United States and Britain. Some point out the possibility that the United States may use a tactical nuclear weapon in response. 

Some magazines in the mass media quickly issued alarms: “World War III! Japan will be surely dragged into this!” “The omen for the world’s end has come unexpected!” “This will be a world war! Bush will use nuclear weapons in revenge!” “What will you be doing then? Whom will you be with?” We only pray that this will not be the omen for “great struggles and disputes such as have never been known in the past” or for “foreign invasion.” In any case, the actual proof of widespread punishment on a national scale will surely appear in Japan, which has become the land of great slander of the Law. The slanderous members of the Soka Gakkai must truly fear this punishment. 

At this time, we should exert ourselves in seriously chanting daimoku and practice thorough refutation—without being swayed by unjust oppression from the slanderers of the Law even in the slightest—in order to avoid the offense of complicity. As long as we maintain such faith and practice, the heavenly gods will always protect us no matter how confused and disordered the world may become. As the Daishonin states, “Even so, should there be a votary of the Lotus Sutra who would give his body and life for it, Hachiman would dwell upon his head” (WND, 1029).