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SGI News: Global activities for peace, education and culture

Reflecting on War

The World Youth Peace Music Festival at Hiroshima Central Park  [Photo ©Seikyo Shimbun]

A series of events to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II and boost popular awareness of peace issues was organized in July and August by the Soka Gakkai in Japan. The value of such initiatives is highlighted by a survey on attitudes toward war and peace undertaken earlier this year by the Soka Gakkai Young Women's Peace Committee. Responses showed that young Japanese have a very poor understanding of the realities of war. Many of them foresee the possibility of their country's involvement in war during their lifetime. Some also believe that Japan should possess nuclear weapons. The results of the survey, together with action steps for building peace, have been published in a book entitled p: step.

Participants in the Culture of Peace Forum listen to wartime experiences

At an Intergenerational Culture of Peace Forum sponsored by the Women's Peace Committee of the Soka Gakkai held at the Kanagawa Culture Center in Yokohama on July 30, young people had an opportunity to hear the experiences of individuals directly affected by war. A panel discussion on creating peace featured Ms. Yukie Osa, former secretary-general of the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan, and a member of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines Coordinating Committee, as well as other activists.

Peace Efforts in Hiroshima

On July 25, Prof. M. S. Swaminathan, pioneering agronomist of India's "Green Revolution" and current president of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, spoke on "The Status of Human Security: 60 Years After the Atomic Bombs" at the Hiroshima Ikeda Peace Center. Referring to the ideals of Dr. Joseph Rotblat (1908-2005), Nobel Laureate for peace and past president of the Pugwash Conferences, and Dr. Linus Pauling (1901-94), Nobel Prize recipient for chemistry and peace, Professor Swaminathan emphasized that science should exist for the sake of humanity's happiness. He also stressed the importance of educating youth about the culture of peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Drummers express Hiroshima's passion for creating lasting peace

On July 30, jazz legends Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter performed as part of a World Youth Peace Music Festival at Hiroshima Central Park. Also featured were Korean drum and Chinese classical harp performances.

On July 31, the Hiroshima Soka Gakkai student division hosted a peace rally in Hiroshima city attended by Japanese students as well as students from China, Korea, Thailand, Australia and Iran currently studying in Hiroshima.

Women Against War

On the same day, the Soka Gakkai Hiroshima Women's Peace Committee sponsored an atomic bomb experience symposium at the Hiroshima Ikeda Peace Center. A testimonial was given by atomic bomb survivor Emiko Okimoto who was exposed to radiation at age 19 during the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Building on earlier projects to collect and publish records of women's experiences of war, Soka Gakkai women members across Japan are filming war testimonials in order to document the reality of war and counteract efforts of those who would sanitize or glorify armed conflict. In addition to the 20-volume work Heiwa eno negai wo komete (Women Against War), a collection of 40 wartime experiences selected from the original Japanese work has been published in English as Women Against War. In the 1970s, the Soka Gakkai youth division also published over 1,000 wartime accounts in 80 volumes. Two English-language volumes--Peace Is Our Duty and Cries for Peace--have recently been reissued.

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