President Harada’s New Year’s Message
Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada has issued his New Year’s message to Soka Gakkai members around the world, titled “Strive Energetically for Kosen-rufu, Brimming with Vibrant Life Force!” In the message, carried in the January 2026 issue of the Daibyakurenge monthly magazine, he states that it was 65 years ago, on New Year’s Day, 1961, when President Daisaku Ikeda expressed his resolve to “create a hundred years’ worth of history in one year.” With this determination, later that month, President Ikeda embarked on his first visit to various countries and territories in Asia to encourage the few Soka Gakkai members there. In doing so, he took the first step toward the realization of his mentor second Soka Gakkai president Josei Toda’s vision of sharing the light of Nichiren Buddhism with the people of Asia.
President Harada describes Nichiren Buddhism as “a brilliant beacon piercing the darkness of our times” that, like the sun, casts “warm rays of hope upon friends facing adversity,” a philosophy that “pulses with life” as members around the world strive for kosen-rufu—world peace through the establishment of core values such as respect for the dignity of human life. He encourages members to draw on President Ikeda’s life as a guiding model in these efforts.
In closing, President Harada states:
“I am once again determined, this year, to give my all—for the attainment of Buddhahood by every member . . . and for the realization of lasting world peace . . .
"Let us each earnestly seek our mentor’s guidance, filling our lives with vibrant energy, and press forward boldly along the noble path of human revolution!”