Daisaku Ikeda, who helped spread Buddhist thought around the world through the Soka Gakkai, Japan’s largest religious organization and a government ally, has died, the organization said on Saturday, Reuters and News.ro reported.

Daisaku Ikeda died Wednesday night of natural causes at the age of 95, according to a statement on the Soka Gakkai website.

He has long been the spiritual leader of a secular Buddhist organization known abroad for its celebrity connections and in Japan for its political influence.

Soka Gakkai, founded in 1930, says it has 12 million members in 192 countries and territories around the world.

Ikeda traveled to more than 50 countries for talks with world leaders, including former Chinese leader Zhou Enlai and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

British actor Orlando Bloom, jazz musicians Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter, and Italian football player Roberto Baggio are among the most famous followers of Soka Gakkai.

In 1964, Ikeda founded the predecessor of the Komeito Japanese political party, the junior coalition partner of the current government.

He founded the Soka Gakkai’s umbrella organization, Soka Gakkai International, in 1975, where he served as president emeritus from 1979 until his death.