December 2009

KCRP Youth Committee Members Visit Rissho Kosei-kai

Six members of the Youth Committee of the Korean Conference on Religion and Peace (KCRP) visited Rissho Kosei-kai headquarters in Tokyo on the morning of December 19. The KCRP is a multireligious coalition in South Korea that includes adherents of Christianity, Buddhism, including Won Buddhists, and Cheondoism. The committee chairman, Rev. Yun Bup Dal, also represented the Youth Department of Won Buddhism. The group conferred with Rev. Yasutaka Watanabe, chair of the board of trustees, in the headquarters administration building. Rev. Koichi Matsumoto, director of Rissho Kosei-kai's Youth Department, also attended the meeting.

The committee members visited Japan to discuss the upcoming tenth Japan-South Korea Youth Encounter 2010, which will be held in Seoul, South Korea, in February in cooperation with the Youth Board of the Japanese Committee of the World Conference of Religions for Peace.

Rev. Watanabe expressed appreciation for the long-term relationship between the KCRP, Rissho Kosei-kai, and Religions for Peace Japan, saying, "It is of great value that exchanges between our youth of faith have continued for 20 years." He added, "Exchanges between people of different faiths require the prerequisite of each of us having strong confidence in our own faith." He concluded, "We would like to continue to study, understand, and cooperate with people of other faith." Rev. Yun replied, "I am confident that this exchange program has a bright future. We hope to welcome young people not only from South Korea and Japan but also from China and North Korea into a friendly circle to live in harmony." He concluded, "Now we are at a very important stage, and I believe good results are sure to be be produced by expanding the exchange program."

They also discussed the "Arms Down! Campaign for Shared Security," launched in December by the Religions for Peace Global Youth Network, calling on every nation to reduce its military spending by at least 10 percent to help achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

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