JEN Continues Relief Project in Baghdad

JEN, a multi-organizational nonprofit group of which Rissho Kosei-kai is a member, has been carrying out a relief project to repair facilities at three schools in Zaafarania, Baghdad, in conjunction with UNICEF.

As a result of economic sanctions, some 1,500 elementary and junior high schools in Baghdad have fallen into disrepair. Conditions were only made worse by bombing and looting during the war, and many schools are not safe enough for classes.

After a three-week investigation beginning in April, JEN decided on a project to repair the schools. On September 1, JEN opened an office in Baghdad to implement the project. A staff of ten Iraqis is headed by Mr. Cyril Cappai and his assistant, Ms. Kumiko Akabori. JEN now plans to repair about thirty schools.

Rev. Kunitomi Returns to Japan from Iraq

Rev. Keiji Kunitomi, director of the Rissho Kosei-kai Youth Division, who had visited Iraq to witness the start of a relief project promoted by JEN, a multi-organizational nonprofit organization (NPO), returned to Japan on August 20. The JEN project is supported by Rissho Kosei-kai's emergency fund-raising campaign for the victims of the Iraq War. While in Iraq, Rev. Kunitomi inspected postwar conditions, visiting a refugee camp located on the Iraq-Jordan border. He also met the staff members of three organizations carrying out relief activities in Iraq with financial support from various organizations, including funds from Rissho Kosei-kai's emergency campaign, and discussed future support activities. In Baghdad Rev. Kunitomi, who is also a director of JEN, worked with Ms. Keiko Kiyama, secretary general of JEN's Tokyo headquarters, and other JEN staff members to establish JEN's Baghdad office, and inspected the damage at schools that JEN and UNICEF plan to repair. He also called at the office of the Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC), an NPO, which has promoted the establishment of a library for children in the refugee camp together with two NGOs, Caritas Jordan and CARE. Rev. Kunitomi also talked with some Iraqi religious leaders, who are members of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) in Iraq, about how international organizations such as JEN can assist in Iraq's postwar rehabilitation. On August 29 he reported on the results of his inspection at a briefing sponsored by the Awake to World Peace Committee at Rissho Kosei-kai headquarters in Tokyo. Rev. Kunitomi said, "Our friends at JEN, JVC, and WCRP have devoted themselves to realizing peace in Iraq at the risk of their lives. Each one of us who lives in Japan should be aware of what we can do. Please continue to do all you can, wherever you are, with passion and vision, to help actualize world peace." On August 20 Mr. Nobuo Tachi, a Rissho Kosei-kai Youth Division staff member who had visited Baghdad to supervise the school repair work, also returned to Japan because law and order in Iraq had deteriorated.

Rissho Kosei-kai Conducts Emergency Fund-Raising Campaign for Iraqi Refugees and Displaced Persons

On April 1 Rissho Kosei-kai announced the launch of an emergency fund-raising campaign to help Iraqi refugees and displaced persons. As the war with Iraq escalated during the past weeks, many members requested that Rissho Kosei-kai take concrete action to aid the people of Iraq who were severely affected by the war. Rissho Kosei-kai prepared leaflets to publicize the fund-raising campaign and made collection boxes for donations from members and well-wishers. The organization is distributing them to its churches in Japan. The Japan International Volunteer Center, JEN, Japanese nongovernmental organizations, and the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP) will use the collected money to purchase emergency relief goods such as food and medical equipment, to pay the shipping cost of blankets for Iraqi refugees, and to provide care for those suffering war-related mental distress.

Shinshuren Sends Youth Members to U.S. to Seek Peaceful Resolution of Iraqi War

From March 18 to 25 the Youth Association of Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan) sent a group of its members to the United States to ask Americans to resolve the Iraqi crisis peacefully. Headed by Rev. Michiomi Rikihisa, the association's chairperson, five youths made the trip. Accompanying the delegation on behalf of Rissho Kosei-kai were Mr. Takanori Kumano, deputy director of its youth division, and staff member Mr. Shigemasa Hironaka. On March 18 they visited Ground Zero of the September 11 terrorist attacks and held religious services for the repose of the victims' spirits. The group also visited the international secretariat of the WCRP and UNICEF headquarters in New York, and the headquarters of the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston, to explain why they oppose the war on Iraq.

Shinshuren decided to dispatch the youths to the United States at a meeting of its standing committee on March 10. The youth association had intended to hand the U.S. government and other international and religious organs in the United States a statement calling on the United States not to take military action against Iraq and to try to find ways to resolve the crisis peacefully. Because the military action against Iraq started on March 20, however, the association changed the statement to request an immediate conclusion of the war to minimize the number of victims. On March 21 the youth envoys visited Washington and read the statement aloud in front of the White House. They also held religious services to pray for peace, in accord with the members' respective religious traditions.

WCRP Secretary General Visits Iraq

From March 16 to 18 Dr. William Vendley, WCRP's international secretary general, and Rev. Kyoichi Sugino, director of its Worldwide Services, visited Baghdad just before the military strike against Iraq. The purposes of the visit were: 1) to convey to the Iraqi people and local religionists the message that the world's religionists stood in solidarity with them; 2) to foster a partnership between the WCRP and the UNICEF office in Iraq to promote the health and education of Iraqi children; 3) to meet with Iraqi religious leaders to prepare for the establishment of an Iraqi chapter of the WCRP; and 4) to convey to the world the WCRP's urgent appeal for a peaceful resolution of the Iraqi crisis. In Baghdad Dr. Vendley and Rev. Sugino met with Dr. Abdullatif Humayim, secretary general of the Popular Islamic Conference Organization, and Archbishop Severius Hawa, primate of the Diocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church of Baghdad and Basra. During the talks, they agreed that if the war destroyed Iraq's social structure, the religious community was the only common ground on which the Iraqi people could unite. They also confirmed that during the period of turmoil following the war, it would be the religious community that could heal the people's spiritual wounds, promote reconciliation, cultivate mutual trust, and build a democratic Iraq.

On March 26, a week after the war began, WCRP International invited several key figures at the United Nations, and U.S. and international religious leaders, to discuss actions that the religious community should take relative to the war. The participants agreed that the world's religionists must unite to urge that the military attacks be stopped immediately. WCRP International intends to visit Iraq soon after the war is over. Its representatives will work with leaders of Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and other faiths in Iraq to establish the Iraqi chapter of the WCRP as a promoter of reconciliation and peace in the country. WCRP International also plans to collaborate with UNICEF to support children in Iraq.

Shinshuren's Chairperson Speaks on Iraq War

On March 20 Rev. Mitsuhiro Fukata, chairperson of Shinshuren, issued an urgent plea immediately to stop the military attacks on Iraq, which had started that same day. Expressing his regret for the events in Iraq, Rev. Fukata warned that resorting to arms would sacrifice the lives of many Iraqi citizens, especially those of the aged and children. He entreated the American and British governments to cease attacking Iraq immediately, and the Iraqi government to promptly accept the U.N. resolutions, so that a world in which every life is respected could be realized. "Again," Rev. Fukata said, "I strongly request that the governments of these three countries find a peaceful solution to the ongoing war." Shinshuren has consistently supported a peaceful solution to the Iraqi crisis. On March 14 Rev. Fukata and Vice Chairman Nichiko Niwano, president of Rissho Kosei-kai, visited the official residence of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo and presented an appeal for a peaceful resolution of the international tension related to the Iraqi crisis.

Shinshuren Submits an Appeal for Peaceful Resolution of International Tension Related to the Iraqi Crisis to Japan's Prime Minister

On March 14, Rev. Mitsuhiro Fukata, chairman of Shinshuren, visited Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's official residence in Tokyo and presented an appeal for peaceful resolution of the international tension related to the Iraqi crisis to the chief cabinet secretary, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda. Rev. Nichiko Niwano, president of Rissho Kosei-kai, and Rev. Keishi Miyamoto, chairman of the board of directors of Myochikai, also attended on behalf of the representative officials of the federation. At the meeting, Rev. Fukata explained the tenor of the appeal to Mr. Fukuda. In response, Mr. Fukuda pointed out the danger posed by the fact that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction, including chemical and biological weapons. He insisted that the world should unite in an effort to pressure Iraq to disarm.

The appeal declared that from the standpoint of its principle of renunciation of war, the federation requested the Japanese government to devote itself to the utmost diplomatic effort to settle the problem by peaceful methods without arms. The appeal stressed that in conformity with the spirit of the Japanese constitution, which proclaimed the renunciation of war, the Japanese government should call for Iraq, the United States, the United Nations, and the International Atomic Energy Agency to resolve the international tension peacefully.

Rissho Kosei-kai Has Presented Iraqi Crisis Statement to Japan's Prime Minister and to U.S. and Iraqi Presidents

Rissho Kosei-kai has published an announcement, "Statement in Support of a World Respectful of All Lives," on its determination for peaceful resolution of the Iraqi crisis. This statement was published in the name of Rev. Katsunori Yamanoi, chairperson of the board of directors. Rev. Yamanoi visited Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's official residence in Tokyo and handed the statement to the chief cabinet secretary, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, on February 18. Rev. Keiji Kunitomi, director of the youth division of Rissho Kosei-kai, called at the embassies of the United States and Iraq in Tokyo and handed the statements and many peace messages from Rissho Kosei-kai members to Mr. Daniel Shields, first secretary of the U.S. Embassy's political section, and to Mr. Abdulwahab M. Ghazal, second secretary of the Iraqi Embassy. Rev. Kunitomi is also the chairperson of The Awake to World Peace Committee.

WCRP/Japan Calls for Peaceful Resolution of Iraqi Crisis

On February 20 the Japanese Committee of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP/Japan) held an Emergency Gathering for Prayer for a Peaceful Resolution of the Iraqi Crisis at the Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei near Kyoto. Some 230 people, both citizens and members of religious organizations that belong to WCRP/Japan, participated in the assembly.

Following an opening address by Rev. Gijun Sugitani, secretary-general of WCRP/Japan, Rev. Jiho Morisada, chairman of Enryaku-ji, told the participants that respect for life is the basis of peace and that war inflicts the gravest harm on the dignity of life. He urged the listeners to surmount religious differences and send out a call for peace to people around the world. Peter Cardinal Seiichi Shirayanagi then told the gathering, "War is an act of human beings. War can be avoided if human beings change." He declared that to bring about true peace, all people in the world must love their fellow human beings as siblings and neighbors, while recognizing and accepting mutual differences.

During a prayer session held in the ancient Konpon-chudo Hall, Rev. Eshin Watanabe, chief priest of Enryaku-ji, read an invocation for peace. His appeal demonstrated his deep apprehension about military action against Iraq and his strong wish that prayer by religionists would illuminate a path to peaceful resolution of the crisis. After a silent group prayer, a representative of the citizens present offered Cardinal Shirayanagi "Words of Peace," a collection of writings by some 1,000 people across the country. Rev. Nichiko Niwano, president of Rissho Kosei-kai and an executive director of WCRP/Japan, then read "An Appeal" calling on President Bush and President Hussein, as well as religionists and citizens of the United States, to make the greatest possible efforts to resolve the Iraqi crisis peacefully. The appeal was sent to the governments of the United States and Iraq, to the WCRP's national chapters, and to related organizations.

Shinshuren Members Gather at Chidorigafuchi to Pray for Peaceful Solution of Iraqi Crisis

On February 15 the Tokyo metropolitan office of the Shinshuren (Federation of New Religious Organizations of Japan) sponsored a Gathering for World Peace and Respect for All Lives at Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery in Tokyo. Some 4,800 people, citizens as well as adherents of the Shinshuren's member organizations, attended the gathering. The participants united in sincere prayers that the crisis in Iraq would be solved peacefully, without a single act of violence. Peter Cardinal Seiichi Shirayanagi and Rev. Mitsuhiro Fukata, chairman of the Shinshuren, delivered a speech entitled "Words for Peace." Rev. Fukata warned against the facile justification of violence as a countermeasure to violence, and stressed the need to disseminate the spirit of peace, in conformity with the renunciation of war proclaimed in Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution. Pointing out that every religion believes in the equality and preciousness of all human lives, Rev. Fukata called for actions to prevent the sacrifice of the invaluable lives of fellow human beings in a terrible military confrontation. Cardinal Shirayanagi said that war, an act of human beings, is an insult against humanity. Declaring that war can never be a solution to conflict, he stated that nothing other than brotherly love, fostered by the belief that all human beings are brothers and sisters and share the same humanity, can make world peace a reality. After an offering of flowers by several representatives and a period of silent prayer, attendees recited in unison an appeal for peace, asking for efforts to avoid armed conflict and to realize a world in which every life is respected.

The Awake to World Peace Committee Is Established

In early February Rissho Kosei-kai's Youth Division organized The Awake to World Peace Committee, together with the organization's youth members, mainly in the Tokyo district. The committee was formed to help youth members participate, on the grassroots level, in the global concern over the Iraq crisis. The committee took several actions on February 15: declaring a "Prayer for Peace" at the ceremony commemorating the Buddha's entrance into nirvana, holding a silent prayer in the organization's Great Sacred Hall in Tokyo, and participating in a prayer gathering organized by the Tokyo metropolitan office of the Shinshuren at Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery. Prior to the activities, Rev. Keiji Kunitomi, chairperson of the committee and director of Rissho Kosei-kai's Youth Division, sent a message to the organization's youth members throughout Japan. He urged, "Keeping the 'preciousness of every life' taught by the founder and the president in our minds, we should combine our efforts with the conviction that world peace is possible. At the same time, we should reflect upon our own states of mind." He emphasized that "Prayer prepares common ground on which we can cooperate. We offer our sincere prayer for the realization of world peace without military action." He praised the enthusiasm of the youth and adult members and declared that their eagerness would bring forth our future actions. He stated, "I hope that members will take concrete actions, with deep prayers for peace, in this crucial time when many precious lives are about to be lost."

Executive Committee of WCRP Issues Statement on Crisis in Iraq

On February 14 the Executive Committee of the World Conference on Religion and Peace issued a statement entitled "The Crisis in Iraq: The Need for Common Security, Common Responsibility and Common Action." The committee called on the Iraqi government to comply with United Nations Security Council's resolution that Iraq demolish its weapons of mass destruction. Pointing out that the Security Council is the sole body legally competent to ensure Iraqi compliance, the committee asked the council to take the steps necessary to achieve this end. The committee also emphasized that any action taken on Iraq must be moral, and urged the council to exhaust all avenues for peaceful resolution of the crisis. The statement stressed the "responsibility of all people and states to address global threats to our common security, consistent with established moral norms and legal standards, . . . to reject the misuse of religion in promoting extremism and violence and to work together for peace and justice."