Ikeda Sensei’s proposals could be said to have started in 1966, when in a speech he called for an immediate ceasefire in the Vietnam War. Then came his Proposal for the Normalization of Sino-Japanese Relations in 1968. Over the next two decades, Sensei submitted several other proposals, including two to the first and second U.N. Special Sessions on Disarmament in 1978 and 1982 that featured 10-step plans toward nuclear abolition.
Opportunities gradually increased for private citizens to offer suggestions to the U.N.’s leaders as greater emphasis was placed on nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which appeal to universal ideals rather than national agendas. In 1983, the SGI was accredited as an NGO with consultative status with the U.N.’s Economic and Social Council, and Sensei began issuing a new proposal annually on Jan. 26, SGI Founding Day.
In a March 2008 interview, the Inter Press News Agency asked Sensei what the objectives of his proposals were. In response, Sensei outlined three points.[1]
First, he sought to fulfill his mentor’s wish to eliminate suffering from the world, empowering those afflicted by war, poverty and environmental destruction “to transform and overcome the suffering in their lives.”
Second, he issued his proposals not as an expert but as a “private citizen,” hoping they could deepen discussions on issues and “aid the search for a way out of our present quandary.” In fact, some of Sensei’s ideas have led to the first treaty to reduce nuclear weapons in 1987 and the development of new U.N. initiatives.
The third and primary objective of his proposals, Sensei said, is to inspire the initiative of young people. He said, “In writing these proposals, my greatest hope, my determination and commitment, is to sow the seeds of change in young people’s hearts.”
Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda once said to Sensei: “You need not only make concrete proposals for the peace of humankind, but to take the lead in working toward their implementation. Even when such proposals are not fully or immediately accepted, they can serve as a ‘spark’ from which a movement for peace will eventually spread like wildfire.”[2]
—Adapted from the Feb. 18, 2022, World Tribune, pp. 6–7
Click here to find a selection of Sensei’s peace proposals over the years.
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