TOKYO: Daisaku Ikeda, a former leader of Soka Gakkai, one of Japan’s largest and most politically influential religious groups, has died aged 95, the lay Buddhist organisation said on Saturday.

Ikeda expanded Soka Gakkai’s following in Japan and internationally and in 1964 founded Komeito, a junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

Soka Gakkai says it now has as many as 12 million members. “He passed away on the evening of November 15 at his residence in Shinjuku, due to old age,” Soka Gakkai said in a statement. The group, founded in 1930, has members around the world that include Hollywood star Orlando Bloom and other celebrities. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on X, formerly Twitter, that Ikeda “played an important role in promoting peace, culture and education in Japan and abroad”. “He left a significant mark on history,” Kishida said, adding he was “deeply saddened” by his death.

Ikeda poured his energy into international exchanges and met political leaders such as China’s former premier Zhou Enlai and ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

He set the goal of achieving peace and happiness for all based on the experience of losing his brother during World War II, according to the group’s website.