News Headlines

Soka Gakkai International (SGI) ’s statement “Mobilizing Global Solidarity to Meet the Challenges of the Climate Crisis” is now also available in traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, French and Spanish. The statement was originally issued in Japanese by the SGI Global Perspectives Committee on November 5, 2025, ahead of the 30th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that took place in Belém, Brazil, from November 10 to 22. The statement describes the climate crisis as an “epochal challenge,” emphasizing global grassroots mobilization and the building of stronger institutions in which youth are mainstreamed as the pillars of climate action. It also says that the climate crisis is not beyond our capacity to resolve, that each and every one of us in civil society can raise our voices and take action. 

On December 14, marking Human Rights Day (December 10), the Eighth Annual Youth Forum was held under the theme “To Protect Life—A Dialogue on Justice and Human Rights” and focused on the abolition of the death penalty. The event was co-organized by Amnesty International Japan and the Soka Gakkai Peace Committee, with the support of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC). Kaoru Nemoto, director of UNIC in Tokyo, delivered opening remarks in which she spoke about the UN’s advocacy for humanitarian reform on the death penalty, stating that capital punishment contradicts human dignity and the right to life. A video message from Mario Marazziti, co-founder of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, was screened. He outlined the current global trend toward abolishing and reviewing capital punishment, the most extreme form of destroying life.  

The video was followed by a discussion among five panelists including former prison guard Toshio Sakamoto, who said that a “genuine realization” of working with people who have been sentenced to death was that “people can change; every human being has the potential for improvement.” The topics discussed included phasing out the death penalty and increasing opportunities for younger generations to learn about its realities.

On November 25, during a plenary session, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola inaugurated the 100th showing of the “Senzatomica: Transforming the Human Spirit for a World Free from Nuclear Weapons” exhibition. The exhibition, an initiative of Be the Hope Foundation, an affiliate of Soka Gakkai Italy, was on display at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, from November 25 to 27. In her speech, President Metsola emphasized the crucial role of young people and affirmed the essential value of peace. Vice President of the European Parliament Pina Picierno also spoke, stressing the importance of the No First Use principle in preventing nuclear war, and Shigemitsu Tanaka, co-chairperson of Nihon Hidankyo, the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, sent a video message.