Its leadership includes the Sosai (総裁), the head priestess of the Ise Shrine,[citation needed] presently Sayako Kuroda.

[2] The tōri (統理) is Kuniaki Kuni [ja], and the post of sōchō (総長) or Secretary-General is currently held by Masami Yatabe, the chief priest of the Mishima Shrine.

The background and position of this is stated in the preamble, "The important concern to date has been to establish and maintain basic norms as a tie for spiritual integration."

It is the reason for achieving the mission to be afraid of the gods, to follow the ancestral lessons, to finally demonstrate the essence of the road, and to promote the welfare of humankind.

On February 2, 1946, to comply with the SCAP order, three organizations – the Kōten Kōkyūjo (皇典講究所), Dainippon Jingikai (大日本神祇会), and Jingū Hōsaikai (神宮奉斎会) – established the nongovernmental Association, assuming the functions of the Institute of Divinities, a branch of the Home Ministry.

[7][8] The Association has many contacts within the Liberal Democratic Party and is a successful lobbyist; its influence can be seen in recent conservative legislation, like the legal recognition of the National Flag (Hinomaru) and National Anthem (Kimigayo), their use for official school events, or the revision of Fundamental Education Law, and it is behind some actions by conservative politicians, like visits to Yasukuni Shrine by Junichirō Koizumi, then Prime Minister of Japan.