Rissho Kosei-kai strives to realize world peace through cultural and peace-promoting activities. We cooperate with and support not only other religious groups but also secular nongovernmental organizations and nonprofit organizations based on the belief that all races and ethnic groups aboard Spaceship Earth are one family. As part of these efforts, Rissho Kosei-kai promotes a wide range of activities in cooperation with the Chuo Academic Research Institute, established the Niwano Peace Foundation as an independent public interest incorporated foundation, and provides support to the United Nations and its affiliated organizations.
Niwano Peace Foundation
The Niwano Peace Foundation, affiliated with Rissho Kosei-kai, was established in 1978 to stimulate work and research for world peace in a religious spirit, involving contemporary thought, culture, science, education, and related fields. Since 1979 the foundation has annually presented grants to assistance activities and research projects that are based on a religious spirit.
The founder of the Niwano Peace Foundation is Rev. Nikkyo Niwano, who established Rissho Kosei-kai in 1938 and was its first president. For decades he promoted interreligious cooperation both on the national and international levels for the common goals of human happiness and world peace. Rev. Niwano held the idea that people of faith are given the vital mission of cooperating to achieve these goals on the basis of mutual understanding.
Since 1983 the foundation has awarded the Niwano Peace Prize to honor distinguished individuals or groups that contribute to world peace through interreligious dialogue, disarmament, the defense of human rights, and conflict resolution. The Niwano Peace Prize is awarded annually on the basis of recommendations by over one thousand leading figures in more than one hundred countries, which are considered with strict impartiality by the Niwano Peace Prize Committee.
Chuo Academic Research Institute (CARI)
Since its establishment in 1969, the Chuo Academic Research Institute (CARI), which is affiliated with Rissho Kosei-kai, has been dedicated to the study of religion, particularly Buddhism, in relation to a wide variety of fields such as philosophy, culture, and science. CARI aims to enrich human culture, promote world peace, and nurture future researchers.
CARI collaborates with scholars and specialists in Japan and around the world to conduct interdisciplinary research on both fundamental religious studies and contemporary issues from religious perspectives. The institute’s research covers a wide range of themes, including Buddhism, environmental issues, bioethics, interreligious dialogue and cooperation, and the teachings and history of Rissho Kosei-kai.
In addition to its research activities, CARI organizes academic conferences and publishes journals and other research materials, providing opportunities to share knowledge and deepen understanding of religion and its role in today’s world.
Support for the United Nations and Its Organizations
One of Rissho Kosei-kai’s guiding principles is supporting United Nations activities for world peace. In this spirit, we have supported the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) since 1979, which was the United Nations International Year of the Child. Since then, young Rissho Kosei-kai members have conducted fundraising campaigns across Japan, soliciting donations from the general public in support of UNICEF’s primary objective of “supporting mothers and children in need around the world.” Rissho Kosei-kai hopes that everyone participating in these fundraising activities or making donations will realize that “everyone is inherently a bodhisattva.” In this sense, the UNICEF fundraising campaign provides an opportunity for both members and the general public to practice the way of the bodhisattva.
In addition, Rissho Kosei-kai strives to enhance Japan’s contributions to the international community through its participation in meetings of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). We also provide ongoing support for projects run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) through our Donate-a-Meal Fund for Peace.
