On Saturday, 16 December 2023, Amnesty International Japan and the Soka Gakkai Peace Committee hosted the 6th Annual Youth Forum which featured various speeches, dialogues and panel discussions presented to approximately 300 in-person and online participants. The exhibition “The Illustrated Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” created by Amnesty International, Japan, was also displayed at the venue.

Human Rights Day on 10 December 2023 marked the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). Since its adoption, the Declaration has served as a model for many domestic constitutions, laws, regulations and policies that exist around the world today.

In her keynote speech, Mikiko Otani, human rights lawyer and member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), introduced the words of Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which called for the need “to rekindle the spirit, impulse and vitality that led to the Universal Declaration 75 years ago.” Otani also expressed her conviction that it is none other than children and youth who hold the key to making these words a reality.

In a commemorative dialogue between Kiyoshi Akasu, Director of Secretariat, Soka Gakkai Youth Peace Conference, and Shizue Sazawa, Japanese Sign Language Adjunct lecturer at Rikkyo University, Sazawa shared her personal experiences as a deaf person and the difficulties posed by her disability. She stressed the importance for “hearing and hard-of-hearing people to come together, based on the principle of human dignity, [to] work as partners to find the best form of coexistence.”

A panel moderated by Kaoru Nemoto, Director of United Nations Information Centre Tokyo, hosted four young human rights activists who shared their activities in their respective fields: Yuichi Kamiya, Yuriko Oda, Momoko Nojo and Iori Harada.

Yuichi Kamiya is Secretary-General of the Japan Alliance for LGBT Legislation, a group of more than 100 LGBT organizations in Japan. He has taught at many universities and has been an advisor to various companies, municipalities and labor unions.

Reflecting on his experiences in teaching LGBTQI+ issues, Kamiya noted a common reaction among people that could be a potential pitfall in establishing a culture of human rights in Japan. “In many cases, people perceive human rights as something that should be protected by having compassion and kindness. This is largely due to a lack of human rights education in formal education. People should be provided with an opportunity to acquire correct knowledge and understanding of human rights, and when violations of human rights occur, it should be dealt with appropriate legal measures rather than personal morals and sentiments.”

Panelist Momoko Nojo is the Founder of No Youth No Japan, an organization that aims to promote political participation by young people, and Fiftys Project, an initiative that advocates for gender equality in the political field. She shared her personal experience of studying abroad in Denmark where was struck by how people, including youth, engaged naturally in politics. “Having been exposed to the way young people influence politics, I wanted to also create a society here in Japan where the voices of young people are heard and where they want to vote. Women's suffrage exists today because there were people who raised their voices. I will continue to raise my voice and make efforts to win the rights of young people,” Nojo said.

Iori Harada is a committee member of the Children and Families Agency, which was established in April 2023 as a new organization that plays a leading role in the government’s work on children. He shared his experience as a young caregiver who supported his mother as she suffered from depression. Speaking from that experience, Harada emphasized the importance of community as a crucial safety net that supports children who cannot be reached by schools nor administrative bodies. “During my most difficult times when I felt as if my own life was taken away, I was able to persevere thanks to the support I received from my local community. Through such interactions, I happened to learn more about human rights, and I felt a sense of empowerment and reassurance that I, too, could be valued. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights contains many things I wanted to know when I was a young caregiver. I am convinced that society will be much better off if children can learn about human rights from an early age.”