Japanese Buddhist Peacebuilder Urges G7 Leaders to Move toward "No First Use" of Nuclear Weapons at Hiroshima Summit

TOKYO,April 27,2023 -- On April 27,2023,Buddhist philosopher and peacebuilder Daisaku Ikeda,president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI),issued a statement calling onthe leaders of the G7 countries meeting in Hiroshima from May 19-21 to takebold steps toward resolving the conflict in Ukraine and guarantee the securityof all humanity by taking the lead in discussions on pledges of No First Use ofnuclear weapons.

Ikeda,an ardent proponent of nuclear weapons abolition since the 1960s,seesthe G7 Summit in Hiroshima as a chance to build on the unwavering activism ofthe hibakusha -- survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings --and their determination that the tragic impacts of nuclear weapons never beexperienced again.

He states: "As the G7 leaders revisit the actual consequences of a nuclearweapon detonation and the bitter lessons of the nuclear era,I urge that theyinitiate earnest deliberations on making pledges of No First Use so that theirshared recognition of the inadmissible nature of nuclear weapons can findexpression in changed policies."

He warns that with the taboo against the use of nuclear weapons being erodedamong the nuclear-weapon states,and frameworks for managing and reducingnuclear arsenals verging on collapse,there has never been a greater need toestablish policies of No First Use.

Regarding Ukraine,Ikeda urges that the Hiroshima Summit should provide a"prescription for hope" by working for an immediate cessation of attacks oncivilian infrastructure and developing concrete plans for negotiations thatwill lead to a cessation of hostilities.

He stresses that representatives of civil society,such as physicians andeducators who protect people's lives and futures,should join such negotiationsas observers.

Ikeda references the work of the physicians from both sides of the Cold War whofounded IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War) inthe early 1980s and met in Hiroshima under the slogan: "Let us Live Together,Not Die Together." In the same spirit,he concludes with the vital need toshift to a "common security" paradigm for all humankind.

This is the third time in the past year that Ikeda,a veteran advocate fornuclear weapons abolition,has called for No First Use policies. He firstpushed for declarations of No First Use in 1975,following visits to prominentleaders and thinkers in all five declared nuclear-weapon states.

Full statement:

https://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/works/lect/2023apr27-g7-hiroshima-stmt.html

The Soka Gakkai is a global community-based Buddhist organization that promotespeace,culture and education. Daisaku Ikeda (1928- ) is president of the SokaGakkai International (SGI),an international association of the Soka Gakkai andan NGO in consultative status with UN ECOSOC. For over 40 years,Ikeda hasauthored proposals and statements offering concrete approaches to resolving thecomplex issues facing humanity.

Ikeda's proposals: https://www.daisakuikeda.org/sub/resources/works/props/

Contact:

Yuki Kawanaka

International Office of Public Information

Soka Gakkai

+81-80-5957-4919

kawanaka[at]soka.jp