Ryuho Okawa, founder and CEO of the Happy Science religious organization, died on Thursday aged 66 of undisclosed causes, sources close to the matter said.
Born in 1956 in Tokushima Prefecture, western Japan, Okawa worked at a major Japanese trading company after graduating from the University of Tokyo. He founded Happy Science in 1986, according to the organization's website.
Okawa went on to establish the Happiness Realization Party and run in the Kinki block of the proportional representation section in the 2009 House of Representatives election, but ultimately lost.
Happy Science, a new age movement which incorporates elements from "all the various religions," has over 700 branches and temples as well as 10,000 missionary houses in over 166 countries around the world, according to the website.
Okawa published dozens of books, including one titled "The Laws of the Sun," which has sold a million copies, the organization's website said.
