Nikkyo Niwano, winner of the 1979 Templeton Foundation Prize for Progress in Religion, is founder of Rissho Kosei-kai, a lay Buddhist organization that numbers well over six million members worldwide.
Michio Shinozaki is a long-time member of Rissho-Kosei Kai, a popular Japanese lay Buddhist organization, and president of the Rissho Kosei-kai Gakurin Seminary in Tokyo. Shinozaki has authored numerous articles on Japanese Buddhist practice for English speaking members of the organization.