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International Day of Peace Celebrated in Tokyo
Written by UPF - Japan
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Tokyo, Japan - Responding to the United Nations’ call, some 50 Ambassadors for Peace assembled to commemorate the International Day of Peace on September 13 in Tokyo. Amid the growing tensions in East Asia, issues related to peace and security are become vital in Japan which has enjoyed, since the end of World War II, a rather stable and secure national life.
In the gathering entitled "Prayer and Dialogue for Peace," the participants joined Mr. Shinobu Ishimaru, coordinator of the Religious Ambassadors for Peace Forum, in prayer for worldwide ceasefire and non-violence solutions to conflicts around the world. Picking up words of prayer from the World Scripture, an interfaith anthology of religious texts directed by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, Mr. Ishimaru recited prayers in Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity as well as a prayer by Rev. Moon.
This year’s theme of the Day of Peace, ‘The Right of People to Peace’ was explained by Mr. Seiichi Kikuya, secretary general of UPF-Japan. First introduced in a UN General Assembly declaration in 1984, this affirms peace as a prerequisite for securing human rights, for which UPF primarily advocates (1) individual responsibility, (2) marriage and family, (3) interfaith cooperation (4) peacemaking by means of “soft power.”
Then, some outcomes of the UPF’s World Summit 2014 (August 9-13 in Seoul, South Korea) were reported by Mr. Yoshihiro Yamazaki, senior researcher at the Institute for Peace Policies. Focusing on the UPF’s unique interreligious perspectives, Mr. Yamazaki introduced several presentations at the summit:
President Zivko Budimir of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, barely out of a decade of bloody and fierce struggles for separation and independence, reaffirmed his commitment to reconciliation and cooperation among different religious and ethnic communities in his nation.
Also in the aftermath of 16-year civil strife between different religious and racial communities, Sri Lanka is striving to establish a society with harmony of multiple faith communities, the country’s prime minister, Hon. D.M. Jayaratne said. He reported about an interfaith project in which various religious facilities for service and prayer are set up side by side in one park with only one entrance gate. Through this daily practice of getting together with different backgrounds, people will build respect and trust other religions, the prime minister said.
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