Meeting with President of SGI

The meeting with the President of Soka Gakkai International Minoru Harada, August 18, 2025

Report by Valeriya Zherebtsova and Kate Jang

On August 18, 2025, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) team visited the headquarters of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) in Tokyo. After a warm welcome by the youth of SGI, who stood at the entrance waving flags and calling out greetings, Dr. Ivana Hughes, President of NAPF, and Minoru Harada, President of SGI, sat down for a conversation about advancing nuclear disarmament.

A central topic of discussion was the Toba Declaration, which was delivered by Josei Toba on September 8, 1957. This declaration calls for the total abolition of nuclear weapons, emphasizing disarmament as the only way to address the root of the problem. The declaration parallels NAPF’s mission to achieve a peaceful and just world free of nuclear weapons.

Dr. Hughes and President Harada proceeded to discuss the moral and ethical obligations that all countries hold regarding nuclear weapons. This included the United States as the only country that used nuclear weapons in war, and Japan, as the only country that suffered atomic bombings during war. Japan’s responsibility, which is an unfair one, includes uplifting the voices of the hibakusha that still reside in the country. The stories of these hibakusha allow everyone to see the devastating consequences of nuclear weapons.

Dr. Hughes and President Harada also discussed the lecture by the late President of SGI, Daisaku Ikeda, delivered at Teachers College in Columbia University on June 13, 1996. In his lecture, Ikeda spoke about the importance of education, which is a “source of inspiration that enables us to become fully and truly human, to fulfill a constructive mission in life with composure and confidence.” He believed that by educating young people about peace and promoting an idea of becoming a global citizen, we can make our world a better place.

Lastly, Dr. Hughes and President Harada talked about the Choose Hope Symposium Declaration, which reinforces the importance of challenging the concept of deterrence, raising awareness of the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, and advocating for nuclear justice.

The meeting concluded with an expression of hope for future collaboration between NAPF and SGI toward achieving the ultimate goal – a world free of nuclear weapons.