As I explained in my last post about the disputed presidency of Jinja Honchō, the dispute has now been resolved, and Revd Tanaka is the undisputed president. Although I entitled that post “Problem Solved”, I did note that I was not being entirely sarcastic. The March 31st issue of Jinja Shinpō reported on two meetings that dealt with the issue, one of the Board of Directors and one of the heads of the Prefectural Jinjachō, and the board meeting article was on the front page.
In the last post, I said that I thought a crisis could be avoided if people took a conciliatory approach. This time, I am not going to make any predictions. I will just note that the next meeting of the Oversight Council is in a little under six weeks.
Revd Tanaka and the Jinja Honchō secretariat are looking into ways to sue, and, if possible, prosecute Revd Ashihara, another of the directors, Revd Nisitakatsuji, who is the chief priest of Dazaifu Tenmangū, and the deputy chair of the Oversight Council (who could be Revd Marufuji, or could be Revd Endō — or something else, because, as usual, no reading is given for the kanji).
Jinja Honchō has formally asked them whether they intend to voluntarily compensate Jinja Honchō for the expense of being sued by them, and they have indicated that they do not. This was reported at the board meeting. The secretariat said that they therefore had no choice but to prepare to take them to court.
Revd Ashihara replied that he had been appointed by the chairman and advised by a lawyer to apply to change the registration. Another director asked whether there was any possible benefit from a lawsuit, which he thought simply risked deepening divisions. Someone else said that Revd Ashihara had tried to launch a coup, and that Jinja Honchō had to take legal steps, while yet another director said that it was strange that none of them were taking responsibility for causing these problems, and that it was important to clarify who was responsible. Someone else said that the nomination by the chairman was ruled invalid by the Supreme Court, and anyway they shouldn’t bring the chairman into this. (Yes, that comment was really made. At the board meeting. In front of the chairman.) That was followed up by someone else bringing the chairman into it, pointing out that he had nominated Revd Tanaka to avoid a split in Jinja Honchō, and wouldn’t it be best to just pass a motion of censure and leave it at that.
Revd Tanaka (this comment is actually attributed) said that this issue had been a big issue for Japanese society (not really, although it has made waves outside the Shinto community) and that it was their responsibility to ensure that nothing like this happened again.
The issue was also raised at the meeting of heads of prefectural Jinjachō, where it was made clear that a motion of censure had been passed (the board meeting was the previous day) and that they were still investigating the options for prosecution or civil suit. The secretariat also mentioned that they had asked two members of the Oversight Council, Revd Marufuji (maybe) and Revd Ashizu, if they would pay compensation, and since they had refused, Jinja Honchō was now considering its next steps. (All the heads of prefectural Jinjachō are ex officio members of the Oversight Council.)
Revd Ashihara, who is the head of Hokkaidō Prefectural Jinjachō and thus was at this meeting as well (I don’t even want to imagine what the atmosphere must be like) pointed out that the Oversight Council had chosen Revd Takatsukasa as the chairman, and elected him (Revd Ashihara) as a director, and that the court had ruled that a president was only appointed when the board had voted and the chairman had nominated — both were necessary. Revd Arai, the head of the General Affairs Department of Jinja Honchō, said that the problem was that something that was not the formal minutes of the Oversight Council had been submitted as if it were.
The head of the Gunma Prefectural Jinjachō (I’m not sure how to read his name, either — possibly Revd Shinpo, with a short “o”) said that it seemed that the directors and secretariat had spent three years just waiting for the court decision, and had made no efforts to solve the problem. Couldn’t, he asked, the two sides have talked about their differences? Revd Arai responded that it was all Revd Ashihara’s fault that the court case had gone on for a long time. The head of Gunma Jinjachō then said that, from the outside, it did not look as though either side had made any effort to compromise. Revd Arai responded that Jinja Honchō had done nothing wrong, so of course they weren’t going to compromise. They were going to stick to their guns, and hope that the problem would be resolved soon. Revd Tanaka, on the other hand, said that it was not the case that no efforts had been made.
In his closing remarks at the board meeting, Revd Takatsukasa, the chairman, said that, looking at recent business, he was reminded of US President Donald Trump.