On 8 and 9 August, 2021, the Soka Gakkai in Japan hosted its annual Youth Summit on the Renunciation of War. This online event was joined by 180 youth members from Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Okinawa and other areas across the country.
On the first day, Mitsumori Kimura, a hibakusha from Nagasaki, and his daughter Yasuko shared their testimonies. Mr. Kimura called for the abolition of nuclear weapons and shared his wish that his experience would be passed down to future generations. Ms. Kimura introduced her involvement with the Soka Gakkai Women’s Peace Committee and her wish to carry on her father’s spirit.
Participants of the annual Youth Summit on the Renunciation of War © Seikyo Shimbun
On the following day, Soka Gakkai youth members in three prefectures made presentations on their peace activities. Those in Hiroshima introduced their annual peace awareness survey and ongoing collection of hibakusha testimonies, while those in Okinawa reported on their activities to create paintings and pictorial story books illustrating the Battle of Okinawa. Youth in Nagasaki created and distributed a map of the ruins of the atomic bombing to their fellow Soka Gakkai high school members.
A video message from Daniel Högsta, Campaign Coordinator of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), was shown. Hayley Ramsay-Jones of SGI then introduced SGI's work with ICAN to promote the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), followed by a Q and A session.