Honorary president of Buddhist group fostering Japan-China ties remembered

Daisaku Ikeda, honorary president of the Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai who contributed greatly to fostering ties between Japan and China, has passed away from natural causes at his residence in Tokyo.

He was 95 years old and died on Wednesday evening. A funeral has been held with members of his immediate family, the Soka Gakkai family announced on Saturday.

In 1964, he founded the political party Komeito, which is currently the junior coalition partner of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Later in his career, he had contributed to China-Japan relations and promoted people-to-people exchanges.

Born in Tokyo on January 2, 1928, Ikeda joined the Soka Gakkai when he was 19 years old and was inaugurated as the third president of the global community-based Buddhist organization that promotes peace centered on respect for the dignity of life in 1960 at the age of 32.

Ikeda actively participated in peace movements and international exchanges. He visited 54 countries and regions, engaged in dialogues with leaders and cultural figures, and received the United Nations Peace Medal, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported.

Notably, he focused on fostering ties with China. On Sept 8, 1968, 11 years after Josei Toda, the second president of the Soka Gakkai, made his declaration calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons, Ikeda issued a Japan-China proposal, calling for the early normalization of diplomatic relations with China.

The proposal resonated widely among those concerned about the future of the two countries, according to the Soka Gakkai.

Diplomatic normalization was realized by the Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People’s Republic of China in 1972.

Ikeda visited Beijing and held discussions with then Chinese premier Zhou Enlai and then vice-premier Deng Xiaoping in 1974. He had a meeting with then Chinese premier Wen Jiabao during Wen’s visit to Japan in 2007, and maintained ties with China’s leadership for many years, NHK reported.