Student Discussion Session Held with Ms. Emiko Yamanaka, Japanese Government Special Envoy for a World without Nuclear Weapons

On Tuesday, July 14, Soka University welcomed Ms. Emiko Yamanaka, who has served as a Japanese government Special Envoy for a World Without Nuclear Weapons for many years, and held a discussion session with students.

Ms. Emiko Yamanaka was born in 1934. At the age of 11, she was exposed to the atomic bomb in Eba, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City, approximately 1.5 km from the hypocenter. In 1985, she began her activities as a firsthand witness, sharing her personal experience of the atomic bombing. As a Japanese Government Special Envoy for a World Without Nuclear Weapons, she has conveyed the threat of nuclear weapons and the preciousness of peace across 13 countries worldwide. In 2017, she visited Oslo, Norway, for the Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony of ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) and participated in related events.

Ms. Yamanaka is also a graduate of Soka University’s Distance Learning Division. Enrolling in 1993, she pursued her studies while battling illness, participating in overseas schooling sessions in France and the United States, and graduated in 2008 after 15 years of dedicated effort.

During the discussion session, she spoke about the horrors of nuclear weapons and the sanctity of peace, drawing from her personal experience of the atomic bombing. During the subsequent Q&A session, she listened attentively to each student's question and spoke warmly about her hopes for the younger generation in building peace, as well as the importance of daily, consistent actions.

Following the discussion session, she toured the Ikeda Research Institute for Soka Education and the Ikeda Collection on the seventh floor of the Central Library, further interacting with university faculty and staff. For the students, it was a precious opportunity to hear the firsthand testimony of an atomic bomb survivor and to reflect deeply on peace.