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Significant Events in Daisaku Ikeda's Life


Personal Events

 



Parallel Soka Gakkai and World Events

YEAR


DATE


EVENT


 


YEAR


DATE


EVENT


1928


Jan 2


Born in Ota Ward, Tokyo, Japan, to a family of seaweed farmers


 


1928


 


Tsunesaburo Makiguchi (1871-1944) (more>>) and Josei Toda (1900-58) (more>>), later to become first and second Soka Gakkai presidents, begin practicing Nichiren Buddhism.


 


 


 


 


1930



Nov 18


First printing of Makiguchi's The System of Value-creating Pedagogy (published by Soka Gakkai predecessor, Soka Kyoiku Gakkai). Date of publication marks establishment of Soka Gakkai (more>>)


 


 


 


 


1931


Sep 18


Japan places Manchuria under military occupation and installs puppet government


 


 


 


 


1937


Jul 7


Japanese troops invade China, Sino-Japanese War erupts


1940


Mar


Graduates from Haneda No. 2 Jinjo Elementary School


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1940


Sep 27


Germany, Japan and Italy sign Tripartite Pact


 


 


 


 


1940


Oct 20


Makiguchi inaugurated as Soka Kyoiku Gakkai president


 


 


 


 


1941


Dec 7


Japan attacks Pearl Harbor; war in the Pacific begins


1942


Mar


Graduates from Haginaka National School


 


 


 


 


1942


Apr


Begins working at Niigata Steelworks as part of youth labor corps


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1943


Jul 6


Makiguchi and Toda arrested and jailed on charges of "lese majesty" and "violation of the Maintenance of the Public Order Act"


 


 


 


 


1944


Nov 18


Makiguchi dies from abuse and malnutrition at Tokyo Detention House in Sugamo


 


 


 


 


1944


Nov 24


U.S. commences B-29 bombing raids on Tokyo


 


 


 


 


1945


Mar 9-10


U.S. launches Tokyo fire bombing campaign


1945


May 24


Ikeda home destroyed in fire following Allied air raid on Tokyo. Family moves to temporary barracks


 


 


 


 


1945


Jul


Ikeda family moves to Omori Minami, Ota Ward, Tokyo


 


1945


Jul 3


Toda released from Toshima Penitentiary in Tokyo


 


 


 


 


1945


Aug 6


U.S. drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima


 


 


 


 


1945


Aug 9


U.S. drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki


 


 


 


 


1945


Aug 15


Japan surrenders to Allied forces and accepts Potsdam Declaration; World War II ends


 


 


 


 


1945


Oct


Toda establishes Nihon Shogakkan publishing company


 


 


 


 


1945


Oct 24


United Nations established


1946


Jan


Employed by Shobundo Printing Co.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1946


Mar


Soka Kyoiku Gakkai changes its name to Soka Gakkai

(Suppressed under the wartime military regime, the organization membership of some 3,000, is decimated)


 


 


 


 


1947


May 3


Japanese constitution adopted, guarantees freedom of religion


1947


May 30


Ikeda family learns eldest brother Kiichi killed in action in Burma (now Myanmar)


 


 


 


 


1947


Aug 14


Attends Soka Gakkai discussion meeting, where he encounters Josei Toda (1900-58), who will become his lifelong mentor [Link]


 


 


 


 


1947


Aug 24


Joins Soka Gakkai and begins practicing Nichiren Buddhism


 


 


 


 


1948


Mar


Graduates from Toyo Trade School


 


 


 


 


1948


Apr


Enrolls in night school extension of Taisei Gakuin (present-day Tokyo Fuji University College); majors in political science


 


 


 


 


1949


Jan 3


Employed by Nihon Shogakkan, Toda's publishing company; becomes editor of a boy's magazine


 


 


 


 


1949


Dec


Employed by Tokyo Construction Credit Association, Toda's new business venture, after Nihon Shogakkan suspends magazine publication


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1950


Jun 25


Korean War erupts


1950


Oct


Employed by Okura Shoji Co., Toda's new business venture, after Tokyo Construction Credit Association suspends operations in August


 


 


 


 


1950


Nov


Promoted to marketing/sales manager at Okura Shoji


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1951


Apr 20


Soka Gakkai publishes first issue of its organ newspaper Seikyo Shimbun


 


 


 


 


1951


May 3


Josei Toda inaugurated as 2nd Soka Gakkai president


 


 


 


 


1952


Apr 28


Soka Gakkai publishes Nichiren Daishonin Gosho zenshu (Collected Writings of Nichiren Daishonin), with editorial supervision by Nichiko Hori


1952


May 3


Marries Kaneko Shiraki and moves to Mita in Meguro Ward, Tokyo


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1952


Sep 8


Soka Gakkai registered as religious organization


1953


Jan 2


Appointed youth division leader


 


 


 


 


1953


Apr 28


Birth of eldest son Hiromasa


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1953


Jul 27


Korean War ends


 


 


 


 


1954


Mar 1


U.S. explodes hydrogen bomb at Bikini Atoll


1954


Dec 13


Appointed Public Relations Director of Soka Gakkai


 


 


 


 


1955


Jan 28


Birth of second son Shirohisa


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1955


Nov 22


USSR successfully tests hydrogen bomb


 


 


 


 


1956


Jul 8


Soka Gakkai fields candidates in national elections for the first time, winning 3 seats


1956


Dec 10


Father, Nenokichi, dies at 68


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1956


Dec 18


Japan admitted into United Nations


1957


Jul 3


Falsely arrested and detained on suspicion of violating election law in Osaka (later fully exonerated) (more>>)


 


 


 


 


1957


Jul 17


Released from prison


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1957


Sep 8


Josei Toda issues Declaration for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (more>>)


 


 


 


 


1957


Dec 13


Soka Gakkai membership reaches 750,000 households





 


1958


Apr 2


Second Soka Gakkai President Josei Toda dies

1958


Apr 11


Birth of youngest son Takahiro


 


 


 


 


1959


Jun 30


Appointed to the Soka Gakkai Executive Board


 


 


 


 


1960


May 3


Inaugurated as third Soka Gakkai president [Link]


 


 


 


 


1960


Oct 2


As first step to transform Soka Gakkai into a global movement, departs for U.S., Canada and Brazil


 


 


 


 


1961


Jan 28


Departs on goodwill tour of six Asian countries


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1961


Mar 27


Soka Gakkai membership reaches 1.85 million households


 


 


 


 


1961


Aug 13


Berlin Wall erected, dividing the German city for 28 years


1961


Oct 4


Departs on nine-country tour of Europe


 


 


 


 


1962


Jan 25


Osaka District Court exonerates Ikeda of July 1957 election law violation allegation [Link]


 


 


 


 


1962


Jan 27


Founds Institute of Oriental Philosophy in Hachioji, Tokyo [Link]


 


 


 


 


1962


Jan 29


Departs on six-country goodwill tour of the Middle East


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1962


Oct 22


Cuban Missile Crisis


 


 


 


 


1963


Jul 27


Soka Gakkai membership reaches 3.6 million households


1963


Oct 18


Founds Min-On Concert Association in Tokyo, Japan [Link]


 


 


 


 


1964


May 12


Departs on tour of Australia, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and India


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1964


Aug 7


U.S. Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, leading to massive U.S. military involvement in Vietnam


1964


Nov 17


Founds Komeito Party [Link]


 


 


 


 


1964


Dec 2


Commences writing The Human Revolution, a novelized account of Soka Gakkai's history, in Okinawa [Link]


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1965


Jul 15


Seikyo Shimbun becomes a daily newspaper


1966


Mar 6


Departs on tour of North and South America


 


 


 


 


1967


Oct 15


Meets for the first time with Konosuke Matsushita (1894-1989), founder of Panasonic Corp. and best-selling author on management philosophy, in Tokyo.


 


 


 


 


1967


Oct 30


Meets for the first time with Count Richard Nikolaus von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894-1972), Austrian thinker and founder of the first Pan-European movement, in Tokyo. The two collaborated on Bunmei nishi to higashi, 1972 (tentative translation: "Civilization, East and West") [Link]


 


 


 


 


1967


Nov 18


Founds Soka Schools System [Link]


 


 


 


 


1968


Apr


Tokyo Soka Junior High School and High School opens in Kodaira, Tokyo [Link]


 


 


 


 


1968


Sep 8


Publicly proposes the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and China at a Student Division gathering in Tokyo [Link]


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1970


Jan 28


Soka Gakkai membership reaches 7.5 million households


 


 


 


 


1970


May 3


Soka Gakkai disallows Komeito Party members from holding Soka Gakkai leadership positions. Komeito's complete autonomy reaffirmed. (more>>)


1971


Apr


Soka University opens in Hachioji, Tokyo [Link]


 


 


 


 


1972


May 5


Meets for the first time with British historian Arnold J. Toynbee (1889-1975) at his home in London; the two collaborate on Choose Life (English edition, Oxford University Press, 1976)
[Link 1] [Link 2]

For list of other dialogues published, see RESOURCES > Records > Dialogues Published


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1972


Sep 29


Normalization of Sino-Japanese relations


 


 


 


 


1973


Jan 27


Paris Peace Accords officially end U.S. military involvement in Vietnam conflict


 


 


 


 


1973


 


Sino-Soviet clashes escalate; Soviet troop buildup along the border with China reaches all-time high


1973


Apr


Kansai Soka Junior and Senior High Schools open in Katano, Osaka [Link]


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1973


Oct 6


4th Arab-Israeli (Yom Kippur) War erupts


 


 


 


 


1973


Oct


The "1973 Oli Crisis" begins when members of OAPEC (Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries) proclaimed an oil embargo in response to the U.S. desision to re-supply the Isreeli military during the Yom Kippur war. It ends March 1974.


1974


May 18


Meets for the first time with André Malraux (1901-76), French author and statesman, in Tokyo. The two collaborated on Ningen kakumei to ningen no joken, 1976 (tentative translation: "Changes Within: Human Revolution vs. Human Condition") [Link]


 


 


 


 


1974


May 30


Visits China for the first time


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1974


Jun 23


Soka Gakkai youth members launch a campaign to record wartime experiences, including the sufferings of A-bomb victims. Based on this, the first in a series of antiwar publications is published.


1974


Sep 8


Visits USSR for the first time and meets with Premier Aleksey Kosygin (1904-80) on Sep. 17
[Link 1] [Link 2]


 


 


 


 


1974


Dec 5


Visits China and meets with Premier Zhou Enlai (1898-1976)
[Link 1] [Link 2]


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1975


Jan 10


Soka Gakkai youth submit ten million signatures supporting the abolition of nuclear weapons to the United Nations


1975


Jan 26


Inaugurated as president of newly-established Soka Gakkai International (SGI) (more>>)


 


1975


Jan 26


Soka Gakkai International (SGI) established during a World Peace Conference on Guam with 51 countries represented


1975


May 26


Meets for the first time with Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova, former Soviet cosmonaut and the first woman in space and later chair of the Women’s Committee of the USSR, in Moscow


 


 


 


 


1975


May 27


Delivers lecture titled "A New Road to East-West Cultural Exchange," at Moscow State University, USSR; receives his first honorary doctorate

For list of other lectures and honorary degrees, see Lectures Delivered and Academic Honors in RESOURCES


 


 


 


 


1976


Apr


Sapporo Soka Kindergarten opens in Hitsujigaoka, near Sapporo, Hokkaido


 


 


 


 


1976


Sep 6


Mother, Ichi, dies at 80


 


 


 


 


1978


Apr


Tokyo Soka Elementary School opens in Kodaira, Tokyo [Link]


 


 


 


 


1978


May 22


Submits Ten-Point Proposal for Nuclear Disarmament to First Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament (more>>)


 


 


 


 


1979


Apr 24


Resigns as Soka Gakkai president; continues as SGI president [Link]


 


1979


Apr 24


Hiroshi Hojo inaugurated as 4th Soka Gakkai president


 


 


 


 


1979


 


Soka Gakkai Youth Division Peace Conference established


 


 


 


 


1979


Aug 3


The Toda Peace Memorial Hall opens in Yokohama as an antiwar exhibition hall.


 


 


 


 


1979


Dec


USSR invades Afghanistan (1979-89)


 


 


 


 


1980


Aug


Soka Gakkai Student Division Peace Committee established


 


 


 


 


1980


Dec 18


Soka Gakkai Women's Peace Committee established (more>>)


 


 


 


 


1981


Apr


Soka Gakkai registered as an NGO with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)


1981


Jul


Recognized as Poet Laureate by World Academy of Arts and Culture


 


1981


Jul 18


Hojo dies at 58; Einosuke Akiya inaugurated as 5th Soka Gakkai president


 


 


 


 


1981


Dec 20


Soka Gakkai registered as NGO of the UN Department of Public Information (UNDPI)


1982


Apr


Kansai Soka Elementary School opens in Hirakata, Osaka [Link]


 


 


 


 


1982


Jun 5


Submits Proposal for Disarmament and Abolition of Nuclear Weapons to Second Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1982


Jun 7


SGI launches "Nuclear Arms: Threat to Our World," an exhibition in support of the United Nations World Disarmament Campaign, at the UN Headquarters in New York concurrently with the General Assembly Second Special Session on Disarmament (more>>)


1983


Jan 25


First of annual peace proposals published

For list of available annual peace proposals, see RESOURCES > Written Works > Proposals


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1983


May 12


SGI registered as an NGO of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN


1983


Aug 8


Receives United Nations Peace Medal


 


 


 


 


1983


Nov 3


Founds Tokyo Fuji Art Museum in Hachioji, Tokyo [Link]


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1984


Mar 23


At Ikeda’s initiative, the Okinawa World Peace Monument is completed on the site of a dismantled U.S. military nuclear-missile base to symbolize Okinawa's transformation from a Cold War rampart to a cornerstone for peace.
(more>>)


1984


Oct 3


Second son Shirohisa dies from illness at 29


 


 


 


 


1985


Apr


Soka Women's College opens in Hachioji, Tokyo [Link]


 


 


 


 


1987


Feb


Soka University of America dedicates first campus in Calabasas, California, USA (The graduate program was later transferred to the Aliso Viejo campus.) (more>>)


 


 


 


 


1987


Feb 24


Meets for the first time with chemist, peace activist and two-time Nobel laureate Linus Pauling (1901-94). The two collaborate on A Lifelong Quest for Peace, originally published in Japanese in 1990 and later translated into other languages including English, Russian, Chinese, Spanish and French. [Link]


 


 


 


 


1988


Jun 1


Submits “Complete Disarmament as a Global Movement” to Third Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament


 


 


 


 


1989


Oct 11


Meets for the first time with physicist, anti-nuclear activist and Nobel peace laureate Sir Joseph Rotblat (1908-2005), in Osaka. The two collaborated on A Quest for Global Peace, originally published in Japanese (2006) and translated into other languages including English, German and Italian. [Link]


 


1989


Oct 23


The SGI launches the exhibition "War and Peace: From a Century of War to a Century of Hope" at the UN Headquarters in New York in cooperation with two other NGOS and sponsorship of the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs.(more>>)


 


 


 


 


1989


Nov 9


Berlin Wall torn down





 


1989


Dec 3


The leaders of USA and USSR declare an end to the Cold War at the Malta Summit.


 


 


 


 


1990


Feb 11


Nelson Mandela freed from prison in South Africa; the white minority government and African National Congress begin negotiations to dismantle apartheid


 


 


 


 


1990


Mar 15


Mikhail Gorbachev sworn in as first USSR president


1990


Jul 27


Meets for the first time with then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, at the Kremlin in Moscow. The two later collaborate on Moral Lessons of the Twentieth Century, originally published in Japanese (1996) and translated into other languages including Russian, English, Icelandic, German and Korean.
[Link]


 


 


 


 


1990


Oct 31


Meets for the first time with Nelson Mandela, leader of the African National Congress and the South African anti-apartheid movement, in Tokyo.


 


 


 


 


1991


Jan

 

 


Submits joint emergency appeal to President Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait before the Jan. 15, 1991 deadline set by multinational coalition forces following Iraq's invasion in 1990, together with Soviet writer Chingiz Aitmatov; British physicist Bernard Benson; The Club of Rome President, Ricardo Diez Hochleitner; UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor Zaragoza; and Nigerian pIaywright and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Wole Soyinka.


 


1991


Jan 17


30-nation coalition force led by the U.S. commences war on Iraq (Persian Gulf War), after Iraq refuses to withdraw from Kuwait


 


 


 


 


1991



Gulf War ceasefire declared; Iraq pulls out of Kuwait


 


 


 


 


1991


Jul 31


U.S. President George H. Bush and Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I), a bilateral treaty between the USA and the USSR on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. Its final implementation in late 2001 resulted in the removal of about 80 percent of all strategic nuclear weapons then in existence.


 


 


 


 


1991


Nov 28


Nichiren Shoshu excommunicates Soka Gakkai membership (more>>)


 


 


 


 


1992



SGI-Brazil establishes the Soka Amazon Institute (formerly the Amazon Ecological Research Center), in line with Daisaku Ikeda’s environmental vision, in Manaus, Amazonas State, with a goal of conserving and revitalizing the Amazon ecosystem. (more>>)


 


 


 


 


1992



Soka Gakkai organizes a youth-led Voice Aid campaign in response to the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia's (UNTAC) request and collected and donated 300,000 second-hand radios to support the smooth organization and administration of free and fair elections in Cambodia (1993).


1992


Apr 5


Meets with American-born violin virtuoso and conductor Sir Yehudi Menuhin (1916-99) in Tokyo


 


 


 


 


1992


Sep


Hong Kong Soka Kindergarten opens in Hong Kong


 


 


 


 


1993


Jan


Soka Preschool (formerly Singapore Soka Kindergarten) opens in Singapore


 


 


 


 


1993


Jan 30


Meets with American civil rights leader Rosa Parks (1913-2005) in Los Angeles, California, USA



 


 


 


 


1993


Feb 9


Meets for the first time with president of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Austregésilo de Athayde (1898-1993), a writer, journalist and human rights champion who played a major role in the drafting of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, in Rio de Janeiro. The two later collaborated on Human Rights in the Twenty-first Century, first published in Japanese in 1995 and later in Portuguese, then in English (2009, I.B. Tauris) [Link]


 


 


 


 


1993


Aug 6


Commences writing The New Human Revolution in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture. The series picks up Soka Gakkai's history where The Human Revolution left off [Link]


 


 


 


 


1993


Sep 24


Founds Boston Research Center for the 21st Century in Boston, Massachusetts, USA (renamed the Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning, and Dialogue in 2009) [Link]


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1995


Jan 17


The Great Hanshin Earthquake (magnitude 7.3) causes extensive damage in Kobe, Japan, and over 6,000 fatalities


1995


Apr


Malaysia Soka Kindergarten opens in Selangor, Malaysia


 


 


 


 


1995


Nov 16


Meets for the first time with renowned contemporary Chinese writer Jin Yong at his home in Hong Kong. The two collaborated on Kyokujitsu no seiki o motomete (tentative translation: "Compassionate Light in Asia"), first published in Japanese (1998) then in traditional and simplified Chinese.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1995


Nov 23


SGI Charter established (more>>)


1995


Dec 1


Founds Makiguchi Foundation for Education in Tokyo, Japan [Link]


 


 


 


 


1995


Dec 8


Meets for the first time with Argentinian Nobel peace laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel in Tokyo. The two collaborated on a dialogue that was serialized in The Journal of Oriental Studies beginning in 2007.


 


 


 


 


1996


Feb 11


Founds Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research (renamed Toda Peace Institute in 2017) in Tokyo, Japan [Link]


 


 


 


 


1996


Mar 14


Meets for the first time with celebrated Chinese calligrapher and painter Fang Zhaoling (1914-2006) in Hong Kong. [Link]


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


1997


May


Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Fragments from the Lushun Museum Collection, Facsimile Edition and Romanized Text, the first of the Soka Gakkai’s Lotus Sutra Manuscript Series published. (more>>)


 


 


 


 


1998


Oct 26


SGI presents petition with more than 13 million signatures in support of Abolition 2000, a campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons led by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, to the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General at New York UN HQ


 


 


 


 


1999


Jun


Victory Over Violence (VOV) launched by the SGI-USA youth as a grassroots movement to inspire young people throughout the world to identify and counteract the root causes of violence in their own lives and in their communities. (more>>)


2001


May


Soka University of America opens campus in Aliso Viejo, California, USA [Link]


 


 


 


 


2001


Jun


Brazil Soka Kindergarten opens in São Paulo, Brazil


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2001


Sep 11


Terrorists attack the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., USA


2002


Aug


Issues proposal entitled The Challenge of Global Empowerment: Education for a Sustainable Future calling for education to be the basis of progress toward a sustainable future, coinciding with the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002. (more>>)

 


2002


Aug


SGI and the Earth Charter Initiative collaborate on the Seeds of Change exhibition on sustainable development, first shown during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. The SGI also supported the production by the Earth Council of the film, A Quiet Revolution , featuring individuals who initiated action to solve local environmental problems. (more>>)


2003


Feb


Brazil Soka School opens in São Paulo, Brazil


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2003


Mar 20


U.S.-led forces invade Iraq


 


 


 


 


2004


Jul


SGI membership grows to 190 countries


 


 


 


 


2005


Jan 26


SGI celebrates 30th anniversary, membership reaches some 12 million


2005


Feb 18


Meets with 2004 Nobel peace laureate and Kenyan environmental activist Wangari Maathai in Tokyo.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2005


Nov 18


Soka Gakkai celebrates 75th anniversary


2006


Aug


Submits proposal on UN reform titled “Fulfilling the Mission: Empowering the UN,” calling for a People’s Decade for Nuclear Abolition


 


 


 


 


2006


Oct 7


Receives 200th honorary doctorate from Beijing Normal University

For list of other honorary degrees, see RESOURCES > Records > Academic Honors


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2006


Nov 9


Minoru Harada, formerly vice general director of the Soka Gakkai, inaugurated as sixth Soka Gakkai president


 


 


 


 


2007


Mar 26


Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Fein, and Rev. Ian Paisley, the head of the Democratic Unionist Party, meet face-to-face for the first time and hash out an agreement for a power-sharing government, bringing what may be definitive closure to centuries-old conflict in Ireland.


2007


Apr 12


Meets with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, who was on an official state visit to Japan


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2007


Sep 8


SGI launches the People's Decade for Nuclear Abolition web site and the exibition "From a Culture of Violence to a Culture of Peace: Transforming the Human Spirit" in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of Josei Toda's Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, at the Cooper Union New York, at a civil society forum specifically aimed at mobilizing youth. (more>>)


2008


Mar


Soka Happiness Kindergarten opens in Seoul, South Korea [Link]


 


 


 


 


2008


May 8


Meets with Chinese President Hu Jintao, who was on an official state visit to Japan [Link]


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2008


Sep 15


U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers collapses, symbolizing what many described as the worst global financial and economic crisis in a century.


2009


Mar 21


Awarded 250th academic honor from Denmark's University College South [Link]

For list of other honorary degrees, see RESOURCES > Records > Academic Honors


 


 


 


 


2009


Sep 8


Issues “Building Global Solidarity Toward Nuclear Abolition,” a proposal outlining a concrete five-point plan toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. The date of the proposal commemorated the anniversary of Josei Toda's antinuclear declaration made on September 8, 1957.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2010


Apr 8


U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sign the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), replacing the one signed in 1991. The new pact aims to reduce by one-third the long-range nuclear weapon arsenals of both countries.


 


 


 


 


2010


Jun 29


SGI and the Earth Charter Initiative create“Seeds of Hope: Visions of sustainability, steps toward change,” an exhibition on sustainability and people’s empowerment. (more>>)


2010


Nov 21


Awarded 300th academic honor (Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters) from the University of Massachusetts Boston [Link]

For list of other honorary degrees, see RESOURCES > Records > Academic Honors


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2011


Mar 11


The Great East Japan Earthquake (9.0 magnitude) triggers a devastating tsunami, causing widespread destruction in the coastal area and the Fukushima nuclear disaster, causing massive displacement and some 20,000 confirmed as dead or missing


 


 


 


 


2011


Dec 15


U.S. winds down war in Iraq


2012


Jun 5


Issues "For a Sustainable Global Society: Learning for Empowerment and Leadership," a proposal putting forward ideas related to the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. The proposal stresses the empowerment of individuals and communities as being vital to achieving a sustainable global society.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2012


Jun 20


UN Conference on Sustainable Development opens in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


 


 


 


 


2013


Nov


The Hall of the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu, a prayer hall dedicated to world peace, opens in Shinanomachi, Tokyo


2013


Nov 5


Leads Gohonzon (mandala) enshrinement ceremony at the Hall of the Great Vow for Kosen-rufu, a prayer hall dedicated to world peace


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2017


Sep 1


The Constitution of the Soka Gakkai established


2018


Aug 6


Completes the final installment of The New Human Revolution, a serialized 30-volume novel charting the development of Soka Gakkai, both in Japan and internationally, on August 6, the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The final installment was carried in the Seikyo Shimbun on September 8, 2018, the anniversary of his mentor Josei Toda’s Declaration Calling for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons issued in 1957.


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2020


Mar 11


The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic


 


 


 


 


2021


Jan 22


The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) enters into force


 


 


 


 


2021


Nov 18


Soka Gakkai releases a newly revised edition of Nichiren Daishonin gosho zenshu (The Collected Writings of Nichiren Daishonin), under the supervision of Daisaku Ikeda


 


 


 


 


2021


Nov 18


Soka Gakkai adopts The Soka Gakkai Charter outlining the organization’s purposes, ideals and guiding principles in the realm of social engagement


2022


Apr 28


Awarded an honorary doctorate from Chungbuk National University in South Korea, the 400th academic honor he received


 


 


 


 


2023


Nov 15


Passes away from natural causes at his residence in Shinjuku, Tokyo, at 95 years of age


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


2023


Nov 18


Soka Gakkai publishes Soka Gakkai kyogaku yoko (tentative translation: The Doctrinal Foundations of the Soka Gakkai), supervised by Daisaku Ikeda


 


 


 


 


2023


Nov 23


Soka Gakkai holds Memorial Service for Daisaku Ikeda (1928–2023), Honorary President of Soka Gakkai and President of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), at the Toda Memorial Auditorium in Sugamo, Tokyo. The service is broadcast live to 1,000 venues throughout the 47 prefectures of Japan




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