Beyond the three traditional religions, many Japanese today are turning to a great variety of popular religious movements normally lumped together under the name "new religions." These religions draw on the concept of Shinto, Buddhism, and folk superstition and have developed in part to meet the social needs of elements of the population. The officially recognized new religions number in the hundreds, and total membership is reportedly in the tens of millions.
The biggest new religion is
Soka Gakkai, a Buddhist sect, founded in 1930. The
New Komeito Party party is of this faith. It is both in national and local assemblies and has a huge influence on politics as it is a part of the
coalition government at the
Diet. Because the
Constitution requires
separation of religion and state the religion's connection with politics is often criticized.
Many of these New Religions actually arose as part of Shintoism, and some still have Shinto in their teachings. Some, not all, of the New Religions are also known as Sect Shinto, such as Tenrikyo.
They do not make up much of the population, however. Most people follow Shinto and Buddhism, and these New Religions make up a little more than Christianity.