News Headlines

On November 15, a memorial prayer service marking the second anniversary of President Daisaku Ikeda's passing was held at the Hall of the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu in Tokyo, Japan. Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada, General Director Shigeo Hasegawa and Women’s Division Leader for Japan Masami Nasu attended the ceremony along with 270 leaders from 75 countries and territories who were visiting Japan for a training course. In his speech, President Harada encouraged participants to continue to work for the creation of a peaceful world based on the humanistic philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism, setting 2029, the sixth anniversary of President Ikeda’s passing, as a milestone in these efforts.

On November 7, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs President Hussain Al-Shahristani and Secretary General Karen Hallberg visited the Soka Gakkai Headquarters in Tokyo where they met with Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada, Vice President Hirotsugu Terasaki and Women’s Peace Committee Chair Miyuki Hashiguchi. President Harada offered his congratulations on the holding of the 63rd Pugwash Conference in Hiroshima earlier in the month, and Dr. Al-Shahristani emphasized the importance of cooperation between scientists and people of faith toward the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The Pugwash Conference in Hiroshima was attended by Chie Sunada, director of Disarmament and Human Rights for the SGI (Soka Gakkai International), and Soka Gakkai members from Hiroshima.

From October 26 to 28, a Soka Gakkai delegation participated in the International Meeting for Peace, titled “Daring Peace,” an interfaith conference organized by the Community of Sant'Egidio in Rome, Italy. On October 28, at a breakout session, “Justice Does Not Kill: Abolishing the Death Penalty,” Enza Pellecchia of Soka Gakkai Italy and professor of law at the University of Pisa, spoke on the death penalty from a Buddhist perspective, which centers on the dignity of life. She drew on passages from President Daisaku Ikeda and historian Arnold J. Toynbee’s dialogue Choose Life that highlight the inviolable worth of every human being. Following presentations by representatives of other faith traditions, a Q&A session was held.

On October 27, delegation members Soka Gakkai Vice President Hirotsugu Terasaki and Soka Gakkai Italy President Alberto Aprea met with Cardinal Silvano Maria Tomasi, former permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva. 

On October 21, SGI-Bolivia held a general meeting at its center in Santa Cruz. The meeting brought together some 400 members from across the country. SGI General Director Yoshiki Tanigawa and SGI Youth Leader Mitsuo Nishikata attended the meeting at which new leadership appointments were announced: Toshihiro Nakajima as general director, Carlos Contreras as men’s leader, Atsushi Sasaki as young men’s leader and Mariana Ugarte as young women’s leader. 

On the same day, marking the 200th anniversary of Bolivian independence, a ceremony was held at which a replica of Bolivia’s Declaration of Independence was awarded to SGI-Bolivia by the House of Liberty, a historic building where independence was declared on August 6, 1825. The replica recognizes the longstanding contributions of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and President Daisaku Ikeda to peace and education.

On October 19, Brazil SGI also held a general meeting at its Campestre Culture Center in Itapevi in the state of São Paulo. Mr. Tanigawa and Mr. Nishikata were in attendance.