December 11, 2019

The Japan Buddhist Federation (JBF) on December 10 published a statement calling for cooperation in the International Signature Collection Campaign in Support of the Appeal of the Hibakusha for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

The JBF consists of 59 major Buddhist sect organizations, 37 prefectural federations, and 10 Buddhist groups, totaling 106 organizations in Japan. It is the only national umbrella organization in the traditional Buddhism world in the country, according to its official website.

The JBF’s statement, which was uploaded on its website on the day, states that in 2015, the discussion on a legal ban on nuclear weapons began in the United Nations and that on July 7, 2017, the nuclear weapons ban treaty was adopted in the UN General Assembly with the support from 122 nations. It also notes that the antinuke UN treaty needs 50 ratifications in order to take effect, and more than 30 nations have completed their ratification process.

In the statement, the JBF points out that the federation’s role is to promote Buddhist culture and pray for peace based on Buddha’s spirit of harmony. It supports efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons through the Hibakusha-led international signature-collection campaign and realize a world which fully respects the call for world peace, protection of the natural environment, and defense of human rights. Japan’s largest Buddhist federation expressed its determination to work to broaden the signature-collection campaign. A hyperlink to the campaign’s webpage is shown on the JBF website alongside the statement.

Past related article:
> Jodo-shu Buddhism calls on its member temples to cooperate in anti-nuke signature collection campaign [June 28, 2019]