National Geographic USA - August 2017

MESSIAH COMPLE+ 93

JESUS
MATAYOSHI

ALSO KNOWN AS
The Only God

Atop a van in Tokyo,
Jesus Matayoshi deliv-
ers a fiery sermon as
part of his campaign for
a seat in the House of
Councillors, instructing
opponents to commit
suicide and threatening
hellfire upon transgres-
sors. During two weeks
of campaigning in
2016—he’s run in many
elections over the past
two decades—he drove
around Tokyo, spread-
ing his message. Many
people ignored him,
but he did garner 6,114
votes. Mitsuo Matayoshi
was born in Okinawa in

1944. In 1997 he founded
      the World Economic
      Community Party,
      which bases its policies
      on his identity as Jesus
      Christ reborn. Jesus
      Matayoshi says his goal
      is to bring about the End
      of Days via the demo-
      cratic political process,
      eventually occupying
      the post of United Na-
      tions secretary-general
      and instituting the will
      of God on Earth.

Jonas Bendiksenís book

The Last Testament will be

published in September

2017 by Aperture/GOST.