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Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is an international Nichiren Buddhist organisation run by two vice-presidents including Hiromasa Ikeda. It was founded in 1975 by his father, Daisaku Ikeda, as an umbrella organization of Soka Gakkai. The SGI claims approximately 12 million adherents in 192 countries and territories since the 1990s, more than 1.5 million of whom resided outside of Japan as of 2012. However, the number is controversial and impossible to verify. It characterizes itself as a support network for practitioners of Nichiren Buddhism and a global Buddhist movement for "peace, education, and cultural exchange." SGI is one of the 6000 organizations awarded a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, since 1983. History The Soka Gakkai International (SGI) was formed at a conference on January 26, 1975, on the island of Guam. Representatives from 51 countries attended the meeting and chose Daisaku Ikeda, who served as third president of the Japanese Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai, to become the SGI's founding president. The SGI was created in part as a new international peace movement, and its founding meeting was held in Guam in a symbolic gesture referencing Guam's history as the site of some of World War II's bloodiest battles, and proximity to Tinian Island, launching place of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The Soka Gakkai's initial global expansion began after World War II, when some Soka Gakkai members married mostly American servicemen and moved away from Japan. Expansion efforts gained a further boost in 1960 when Ikeda succeeded Jōsei Toda as president of the Soka Gakkai. In the first year of his presidency, Ikeda visited the United States, Canada, and Brazil, and the Soka Gakkai's first American headquarters officially opened in Los Angeles in 1963. In 2000, Uruguay honored the 25th anniversary of the SGI's founding with a commemorative postage stamp. The stamp was issued on October 2, the anniversary of SGI President Ikeda's first overseas journey in 1960. In January 2015, the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo reported that the SGI had been nominated for the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, as confirmed by a Nobel Peace Laureate. In May 2015, the SGI-USA was one of the organizing groups for the first-ever Buddhist conference at the White House. In June 2015, the SGI-Italy was recognized by the Italian government with a special accord under Italian Constitution Article 8, acknowledging it as an a religion with an official agreement with the government of Italy and eligible to receive direct taxpayer funding for its religious and social activities. It also recognizes the Soka Gakkai as a "Concordat" (It: "Intesa") that grants the religions status in "a special 'club' of denominations consulted by the government in certain occasions, allowed to appoint chaplains in the army – a concordat is not needed for appointing chaplains in hospitals and jails – and, perhaps more importantly, to be partially financed by taxpayers' money." Twelve other religious denominations share this status. Organization The Soka Gakkai International comprises a global network of affiliated organizations. As of 2011, the SGI reported active national organizations in 192 countries and territories with a total of approximately 12 million members. The number is the same as in the 1990s. However, this is the figure put forward by the organization itself, and is not supported by any independent account. According to the work of American academic Levi McLaughlin, membership in Japan is closer to 2-3% of the country's population, or between 2.4 and 4 million people. The SGI is independent of the Soka Gakkai (the domestic Japanese organization), although both are headquartered in Tokyo. National SGI organizations operate autonomously and all affairs are conducted in the local language. Many national organizations are coordinated by groups such as a women's group, a men's group, and young women's and young men's groups. National organizations generally raise their own operational funds, although the SGI headquarters in Tokyo has awarded funding grants to smaller national organizations for projects such as land acquisition and the construction of new buildings. SGI-affiliated organizations outside Japan are forbidden to engage directly in politics. While the national organizations are run autonomously, the Tokyo headquarters of SGI disseminates doctrinal and teaching materials to all national organizations around the world. The Tokyo headquarters also serves as a meeting place for national leaders to come together and exchange information and ideas. The election or nomination of leaders is typically not decided by the SGI's general membership but by a board of directors. Leadership below national staff, however, has been liberalized; in the United States for instance, the nomination and approval of leaders includes both members and organizational leaders in the process. Author Karel Dobbelaere notes the election of the presidents, as well as a process of "nomination, review and approval that involves both peers and leaders" in choosing other leaders. Beliefs and social engagement SGI members adhere to the philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism as interpreted and applied by the Soka Gakkai's first three presidents Tsunesaburo Makiguchi, Josei Toda and Daisaku Ikeda, incorporating social interaction and engagement into their Buddhist practice. Monthly neighborhood discussion meetings are generally held at the homes of SGI members. Soka Gakkai Malaysia since 2005 has held a non-competitive biennial "Run for Peace" to raise awareness of nuclear disarmament and in support of culture of peace in the community—reportedly "the largest peace run in the country held in 28 locations nationwide and involving some 115,000 runners." In Dubai, the SGI Gulf association has hosted since 2008 an annual "Poetic Heart" symposium, partnering with other organizations and involving international and local artists as well as poets of all ages. Organizational practices in the United States have been characterized as socially inclusive Buddhism. In 2008, the SGI-USA, which is headquartered in California, publicly opposed that state's Proposition 8 (which sought to prevent same-sex marriage), and coordinated with other progressive religious groups to support same-sex couples' right to legally marry. In 2012, then-President of the Republic of China Ma Ying-jeou remarked that the Taiwan Soka Association had been recognized for its involvement the past 16 years in the general welfare of society, education and religious teaching, highlighting its disaster rescue and relief efforts in the wake of Typhoon Morakot in 2009. In November 2019, the Soka Gakkai Peace Committee in Japan helped organize the international conference "No Justice Without Life", at which Mario Marazziti of the Italy-based Community of Sant'Egidio, among others, advocated for a morato.... Discover the Pamela Dumond popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Pamela Dumond books.