My name is
Ryokyu Nakayama. I am a Japanese citizen and the priest responsible for the
Nichiren Shoshu Temple in Argentina. The Temple is located in Avenida Carabobo
257, City of Buenos Aires. I live with my wife and two daughters aged six and
three in the building that serves both as temple and as practice and
educational center. Nichiren Shoshu is an institution duly recognized by the
State and registered at the National Registry of Religious Organizations. We
have recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Temple’s opening
in Argentina.
Since
March 2018, a slander campaign against me, which also affects the Nichiren
Shoshu Buddhist cult and the members attending our services and training
school, has been spreading through the social networks and digital and printed
media. I deeply regret the unrest these false accusations may cause both to the
community and persons of good will.
I remained
silent for several years to protect Ms. Cecilia Califano’s privacy. But this
campaign and the harassment on the part of my accuser, Ms. Califano, has been escalating
with demonstrations in the streets, offensive graffiti, posters, stone attacks
to the temple, and messages in social networks, usually under fake profiles.
Who is Cecilia Califano? She is a
believer who, for more than ten years, practised Buddhism, attending the Temple
and the spiritual practice meetings at the regional groups, and expressed love
feeling towards me, without any encouragement whatsoever on my part, stalking
and harassing me persistently. I always declined her advances and was discreet
when dealing with the situation to avoid hurting her feelings and exposing her
before the members of the community. Nonetheless, my tactfulness exasperated
Ms. Califano, who decided to organize a campaign to tarnish my reputation.
The setup: a script with false events
Ms.
Califano states that I abused her on July 25, 2017, at a hotel in Japan, during
a believers’ pilgrimage to the Head Temple. That night, at her request, I
accompanied her to buy some special kitchen knives. We bought them, then she
wanted to have something to eat and afterwards we returned to the hotel because
everybody was returning to Buenos Aires the following day. On such occasion,
she declared her love feelings towards me. I rejected her declaration with care
so as not to hurt her. Nonetheless, the following days she started telling me
that I had hurt her by taking advantage of her feelings. I would like to state
that the subsequent abuse accusation is absolutely false and a slander. Moreover,
in June 2018, an anonymous complaint on human trafficking against me and the
Temple was filed with the Federal Prosecutor. After a thorough investigation,
this complaint was dismissed in court. However, Ms. Califano appeared as
plaintiff and requested the case to be reopened. In her sworn statement, apart
from the abuse, she declared that after shopping in Japan, I took her, under
threats, to the areas where prostitution is exercised where she was exhibited
to some men. Obviously, such statements are false. All the members who have
participated in the trips to Japan organized by the Temple, including Ms.
Califano, may attest that such activities never took place. To this date, she
is the only plaintiff regarding the human trafficking case. In her sworn
statement, she also declared that I visited brothels. This is absolutely false
and serious. Five days after the events she had reported, I received a message
from her expressing her love feelings towards me.
I must add
that, a month later, when I travelled to Córdoba to fulfill my spiritual
duties, Ms. Califano travelled on her own and participated in the programmed
events and ceremonies. Although she stayed at a female believer’s home who
hosted her, she insisted on getting accommodation at the same hotel I was
staying. On the day I was returning to Buenos Aires, she decided to board the
same bus I was travelling on, instead of using the plane ticket she had
previously bought for a later date. On the day of my birthday, in August, she
sent me a kimd message wishing me a happy birthday. During September and
October, she asked my opinion on several issues related to her role in the Temple.
Our exchange was always correct and respectful. Three months after the alleged
abuse, she expressed pity and sadness because I would not attend, along with
other Buddhist mates, to a meeting to be held at her home.
Ms.
Califano continued her spiritual practice normally until the end of October
2017, attending the Temple and displaying a personal and social behavior which
was inconsistent with the behavior of a person that had been assaulted or
abused. How is it possible for a person who was abused and exhibited to men for
human trafficking purposes, as she claims, to behave in such manner before me
and her colleagues?
I have
already submitted those messages to the court. Moreover, many people can
testify in relation to the aforementioned behavior of Ms. Califano during my
stay in Córdoba, for example, the interpreter that travelled with me from
Buenos Aires.
I would
also wish to state that Ms. Califano is spreading a fake story about a
non-existing person who claims to have been abused by me in a center where I
practise sports, aiming at amplifying the case by tarnishing my honor. At the
court’s request, Ms. Califano expressed that it was difficult to locate this
person bacause she did not know her personally. Moreover, when learning about
this complaint, the sports center’s manager immediately posted, in the blog
that had released the news, that such person did not exist as a member of the
institution, neither had attended it. Unfortunately, the blog’s owner deleted
the message.
Reckless and malicious conduct
Ms.
Califano also states that, after lodging her complaint, she was ill-treated by
some colleagues and expelled. I must make it clear that this not true, since
she herself decided to quit her Buddhist practice and communicated this to me via
a Whatsapp message. However, me and several members received insulting and
threatening messages and phone calls. Also, due to this slander campaign, we have
become aware of comments in social networks publications inciting violence,
such as: “set the temple on fire”, and repeated threats to me displaying
profound bigotry.
In this
respect, my family and the members of our religious community are really
frightened by Ms. Califano’s actions so far. I deeply regret the suffering she
is causing. At this moment, her aggressive and violent campaign prevents the
Temple and its worshipers from enjoying a normal religious practice in a
peaceful, free and tranquil social environment.
I would
also wish to clearly express that abuse, whether psychological or physical, is always
a despicable and repulsive act, no matter the circumstances.
Steps taken to confront discredit
Since the
aggressions are increasing and nothing seems to stop Ms. Califano’s behavior, I
have been forced to take formal measures (sending a return receipt letter;
filing a misdemeanor complaint with the Buenos Aires City Prosecutor’s Office; a
civil mediation, which Ms. Califano failed to attend), but to no avail.
Presently, I have filed a civil complaint against Ms. Califano to stop her
defamatory conduct, to publicly retract, to refrain from reproducing her unfounded
slanderous and libelous allegations, and to pay for the damages inflicted. I
must safeguard the inalienable right to my good name and integrity, honor and
dignity, as well as Nichiren Shoshu’s cult and religious freedom.
About Nichiren Shoshu
Nichiren Shoshu is a Buddhist school founded more than 750 years ago in Taisekiji, Japan. It has 1086 priests, 698 temples in Japan and 33 distributed in the United States of America, Canada, Spain, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, and Brazil. It comprises 700,000 members and has been established in Argentina since 1960. The Temple located in Flores was opened in 1998. Nichiren Shoshu spreads worldwide the correct teachings of Nichiren Daishonin, for each individual’s joy as a starting point to achieve eternal world peace. Regarding the Spanish-speaking countries in South America, there are believers in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay and Bolivia, all centered at the Temple located in Argentina, where worship and educational activities are constantly conducted.
http://www.nichirenshoshu.or.jp/index.html
