New Year’s Prayer Meetings Welcome 2026

In January, New Year’s prayer meetings were held around the world to usher in 2026, the Year of Vibrant Growth for a Youthful Soka Gakkai Worldwide. On January 1, members in countries including Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, Madagascar, Norway, Portugal, Singapore and the USA gathered to celebrate the start of the New Year.

At the meeting in Frankfurt, General Director of Soka Gakkai in Germany Leonardo Duricic encouraged the participants to utilize dialogue to spread hope throughout society. Speaking at the prayer meeting in São Paulo, General Director of Brazil SGI Miguel Shiratori also encouraged participants to strive to become sources of hope in their communities.

In his New Year’s message to members around the world, carried in the January 2026 issue of the Daibyakurenge monthly magazine, Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada describes Nichiren Buddhism as “a brilliant beacon piercing the darkness of our times” that, like the sun, casts “warm rays of hope” into people’s lives.