Faiths Join to Stress Vital Challenge of Nuclear Abolition at Melbourne Parliament of World's Religions

TOKYO, December 8 - Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim representatives joined voices
during the Parliament of the World's Religions in Melbourne, Australia, on
December 7, calling for moral leadership by the world's religions in the
effort to abolish nuclear weapons.

Dr. Sue Wareham, former president of the Medical Association for
Prevention of War (Australia) and board member of the International Campaign
to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), stressed the vital role people of faith
can play as she chaired a panel on "Nuclear Weapons Abolition: Response and
Advocacy by Religious Communities."

Ibrahim Ramey, director of human and civil rights of the Muslim American
Society Freedom Foundation, commented, "All religions share a common wish for
peace and reject nuclear weapons. Morally, nuclear weapons do not have any
role or reason to exist in our world." Kimiaki Kawai, program director of
peace affairs of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), outlined the organization's
efforts to strengthen grassroots momentum toward nuclear abolition through
its "People's Decade for Nuclear Abolition" initiative, stating that it is
imperative that civil society organizations take the lead in generating a
global groundswell of public opinion and getting this message heard by
policy-makers.

Other speakers were Paul Morris, professor of religious studies at
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, who contributed a Jewish
perspective, and the Rev. Dr. Wes Campbell, Uniting Church University of
Melbourne chaplain.

On December 6, during another panel on nuclear disarmament, Judge
Christopher Weeramantry, former judge of the International Court of Justice,
stated: "There is danger of the possibility of extermination in one
millisecond of all that has been built up for millennia. We have to stop
that. The only way to stop it is to generate public consciousness of this
agenda. If each one of us stands up and raises their voice, we can abolish
nuclear weapons." SGI Executive Director for Peace Affairs Hirotsugu Terasaki
responded, concurring that the time is right for increased efforts toward
nuclear abolition in the run-up to the May 2010 NPT Review Conference.

The SGI antinuclear exhibition "From a Culture of Violence to a Culture
of Peace: Transforming the Human Spirit" is also showing during the
Parliament in the Melbourne Convention Centre until December 9.

The Parliament of the World's Religions, which takes place in a different
location every five years, is the world's largest interfaith gathering,
bringing together over 8,000 representatives of a wide array of faiths to
build bridges and address global issues.

The Soka Gakkai International Buddhist association has a 50-year track
record of efforts toward nuclear abolition. It launched the People's Decade
for Nuclear Abolition in 2007 to help galvanize grassroots momentum toward
this end, working together with initiatives such as the International
Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). See: www.peoplesdecade.org.

    Contact:
    Joan Anderson
    Office of Public Information
    Soka Gakkai International
    Tel: +81-3-5360-9482
    Fax: +81-3-5360-9885
    URL: www.sgi.org
    E-mail: janderson[at]sgi.gr.jp

Joan Anderson, Office of Public Information, Soka Gakkai International, +81-3-5360-9482, fax, +81-3-5360-9885, janderson[at]sgi.gr.jp