May 2010

Young Members Promote Disarmament on Youth Day

On May 16, young Rissho Kosei-kai members throughout Japan took part in Youth Day 2010. With the motto "Raising the Winds of Social Change," some 15,000 young members promoted various activities contributing to the betterment of society and the building of world peace. Many adult members also participated in these activities.

May was the month in which the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons convened at UN Headquarters in New York. Coinciding with this pivotal conference, most Dharma Centers carried out petition drives supporting the Arms Down! Campaign for Shared Security, promoted by the Global Youth Network of the World Conference of Religions for Peace. President-designate Kosho Niwano visited the venues of events held by members of the Dharma Centers of Misato, Saitama Prefecture, and Sumida, Tokyo, and joined in their activities.

The Arms Down! Campaign is a worldwide campaign collecting signatures to petitions calling for reductions in nuclear and conventional weapons and reallocating military spending to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Young Rissho Kosei-kai members appealed to people in their communities to join in the campaign.

Members of the Nagaoka Dharma Center, in Niigata Prefecture, which has many foreign residents, gathered signatures and wore T-shirts with peace slogans in English, Chinese, and Korean.

Members of the Fukui Dharma Center, Fukui Prefecture, gave each petition signer a packet of facial tissues containing a card with information about the campaign. Members at many Dharma Centers made posters and banners publicizing the campaign.

Members of the Tokuyama Dharma Center, Yamaguchi Prefecture, in cooperation with members of the Church of Perfect Liberty, gathered signatures at seven sites in the city. A 14-year-old Rissho Kosei-kai participant said she felt that the participants from the two religious organizations were united by their hopes for peace.

In Hyogo Prefecture, 126 Kobe Dharma Center members marched in the Kobe Festival parade and appealed for public support of the campaign.

Other Dharma Centers promoted such activities as fundraising for UNICEF and cleaning up local neighborhoods. At noon, all the Youth Day participants prayed together for world peace.

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