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Ryuho Okawa, the head of the Japanese religious organization “Happy Science” who claimed to be the reincarnation of an alien god named “El Cantare,” died this week, multiple Japanese news outlets confirmed.
The details surrounding Okawa’s death, including cause of death and date, remain a mystery. The Happy Science organization has not independently confirmed the news at press time. Japan’s newspaper of record Asahi Shinbun cited “sources close to the man” in its report on his death.
At the time of his reported death, Okawa’s Happy Science boasted thousands of followers in Japan and at least ten branches in America, including in New York, New Jersey, Hawaii, and Florida.
It established its own political party in Japan, the Happiness Realization Party, and frequently commented on and attempted to intervene in American politics. While the Happiness Realization Party has had only minimal electoral success in Japan, Happy Science is prominently represented in the Japanese Conservative Union, as its chairman, Jay Aeba, is reportedly a member.
Okawa was a prominent Japanese celebrity, difficult to miss in shimmering robes, golden brooches, and delivering addresses before ornate metallic backgrounds. His group often weighed in on current events and directed followers towards partisan stances. Most notoriously in recent memory, the group claimed to offer “spiritual” vaccines against Chinese coronavirus.
Okawa also published musical compositions for sale that the group claimed could “repel viruses, illnesses, and other negative spiritual vibrations.”
Okawa’s primary form of doing so was in the publication of books transcribing “interviews” with the “guardian spirits” of various high-profile American political figures, including the past two presidents, Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
