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On May 3, some 1,000 Soka Gakkai members from across Africa gathered in Lomé, the capital of Togo, for the Africa Hope General Meeting. The meeting celebrated Soka Gakkai Day and marked the 50th anniversary of establishment of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) in 1975. At SGI’s inauguration meeting, just three African countries were represented. The Africa Hope General Meeting brought together Soka Gakkai members from 24 African countries, highlighting the growth of the Soka Gakkai on the continent since then and 65 years after President Daisaku Ikeda first advocated that the 21st century be the Century of Africa. The meeting was attended by a delegation from Japan led by SGI General Director Yoshiki Tanigawa. SGI Vice General Director Ida Gbodossou Adjévi also attended. Both Mr. Tanigawa and Ms. Gbodossou gave congratulatory remarks. Representatives from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo delivered a youth declaration, pledging to work for peace in solidarity across Africa. A participant from Togo shared how she overcame various difficulties, including illness within her family and financial issues through her Buddhist practice. The meeting ended with song and dance performances.   

On April 29, the Soka Movement in France held a general meeting at its center in Paris. The event was attended by a delegation from Japan led by SGI General Director Yoshiki Tanigawa and more than 3,000 participants from across France and its overseas departments, joining both in person and online.

During the meeting, the establishment of a new Executive Committee was announced and Cathy Mahuet was appointed executive director. Other new leadership appointments were also announced, with Mitsuko Morlat as women’s leader and Fabrice Oliya  as men’s leader.

From April 28 to May 9, the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (2025 NPT Preparatory Committee) was held at the UN Headquarters in New York.

On April 29, the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) organized a side event titled “Preventing the Use of Nuclear Weapons: In Pursuit of Nuclear Disarmament” in cooperation with the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies and sponsored by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the UN.

The side event, moderated by Professor William Potter, founder and director of CNS, explored ways to promote dialogue between nuclear-weapon states and other states. Ambassador Alexander Kmentt, director of the Department of Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation at the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was among people who spoke at the event. Speakers highlighted the need for trust, transparency and the active engagement of youth in shaping a more peaceful, secure future.

Chie Sunada, director of Disarmament and Human Rights for the SGI, stressed the importance of the adoption of No First Use of nuclear weapons pledges in reducing global anxiety around their use.

On April 25 and 26, Hiro Sakurai, director of the SGI Office for UN Affairs, joined a meeting of the Regional Committee in Asia-Pacific (RCAP) of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the UN (CoNGO) in Bangkok, Thailand. At a session on implementing the SDGs on April 25, Mr. Sakurai presented on the SGI (Soka Gakkai International)’s activities in Asia Pacific region, highlighting its partnership efforts with various organizations including the Asia Pacific Faith-Based Coalition for Sustainable Development (APFC). On April 26, he was a panelist at a discussion titled “Advancing sustainable, inclusive, science- and evidence-based solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals.”