On July 3, 1957, Ikeda was arrested on unfounded charges of violating the election law. He was jailed for two weeks and interrogated.

Ikeda’s arrest, as a leading organiser of the election campaign in Osaka, came at a time when the Soka Gakkai candidates were achieving surprising success at both the national and local levels. Alarmed by the growing influence of this grassroots movement, the conservative political establishment launched a series of attacks on the Soka Gakkai, culminating in Ikeda’s arrest.