Soka Gakkai president calls for an end to war and violence

Minoru Harada’s statement marks eighty years since the end of the Second World War and is entitled: ‘Creating a Wave of Change Towards a Century Without War’. In it, he clarifies the Soka Gakkai’s ongoing commitment to peace.

Harada’s statement is grounded in the determination that no one on this planet should have to endure the horrors of war. Sharing his own wartime experiences of the terror of the firebombing of Tokyo, Harada expresses condolences for those killed in war and regret for the suffering caused by the Japanese military during the Second World War.

He writes: ‘As a Japanese citizen, I once again firmly pledge to continue working to build peace not only in the Asia-Pacific region, where Japan’s past actions caused immense devastation and suffering, but also throughout the world, guided by deep reflection on this history.’

Harada stresses that concern for the suffering of innocent civilians underpins the Soka Gakkai’s commitment to peace. The same concern motivated the manifold efforts to build peace and renounce war initiated by his mentor SGI President Daisaku Ikeda (1928–2023) – from his visits to countries in Asia devastated by Japanese brutality to his efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons, and his contribution of annual peace proposals over a forty-year period. 

Harada expresses grave concern about the ongoing conflicts and calamitous situations in Ukraine and Gaza and calls for persistent diplomatic efforts to achieve genuine ceasefires. He laments that the eighty-year-old goal of the Charter of the United Nations – freeing the world from the scourge of war – has not yet been achieved and urges adherence to international humanitarian law. He also proposes galvanising public opinion towards the prohibition and abolition of nuclear weapons. 

Harada concludes by outlining three key commitments by the Soka Gakkai: 

Firstly, ongoing youth exchanges, in line with the organisation’s long track record of promoting grassroots exchanges with neighbouring countries in Asia, including China and South Korea.

He writes:

We firmly believe that friendships forged by the youth of the next generation will serve as the most powerful foundation for a bulwark against war.

Secondly, Harada confirms the commitment to continued engagement in interfaith dialogue of the Soka Gakkai and the SGI. 

And thirdly, he urges the expansion of global solidarity and commits to ongoing support for UN-centred efforts to address issues such as human rights and climate change. He states:

Now, more than ever, the international community must transition from an era characterised by increasing mutual mistrust leading to military build-up to one in which nations work together to tackle common threats and challenges facing humanity. By steadily advancing such efforts, the path toward a century defined by the renunciation of war will inevitably come into clear view.

The full English translation will be available on the Soka Gakkai website at the end of August.●