Opening
The 2023 SOPP live-stream on YouTube kicked off at 11am Japan time on May 21, opening with scenes of the natural world and then shifting to scenes from past SOPP ceremonies, both at Fuji Sanctuary and around the world. The ceremony then began in earnest with opening remarks from Masami Saionji, Chairperson of Byakko Shinko Kai, followed by a welcoming address from Byakko President Tomohiko Naya.
Opening remarks
Masami Saionji, Chairperson of Byakko Shinko Kai
Just watching the opening video, I was moved to tears to see how the message ‘May peace prevail on Earth’ has spread all over the world, giving birth to the SOPP and the Divine Spark IN. This is all due to the work of our dear prayer colleagues—both those who are active now and those who have passed away—who have offered their peace prayers and supported this peace movement throughout the world.
During the three years of the Covid-19 pandemic, Byakko’s prayer colleagues have been performing the Divine Spark IN. Now, finally, the pandemic emergency is coming to a close, and a new world—a new era—is beginning.
In 2025, peace will begin to spread all over the world from Japan. It’s beginning to manifest right now in Hiroshima, with the G7 Summit. It is no coincidence that the G7 Summit is happening now in Japan, where so many of our prayer colleagues have been praying for the peace of the world and forming the Divine Spark IN. They are praying for a world of equality, free of divisions and discrimination.
I am so grateful to everyone for continuing to form the Divine Spark IN these past three years. It reminds me of the peace movement started by Masahisa Goi, based on the message ‘May peace prevail on Earth.’ This prayer has been written on peace poles that are now planted in every country in the world. A peace pole does not state who planted it or where it came from. No one knows who planted it—this is the work of our prayer colleagues, acting from their hearts.
Starting in 2025, peace will spread outward from Japan. I was just in Hiroshima with my family and the directors of Byakko Shinko Kai. We offered our prayers and formed the Divine Spark IN, and the results of this will begin to show from here on.
I am so grateful that we are able to be here today. Thank you.
Welcoming address
Tomohiko Naya, President of Byakko Shinko Kai
Thank you very much for joining us today for the 19th annual Symphony of Peace Prayers.
Although society is returning to normalcy after the Covid-19 pandemic, we have decided not to invite participants and guests to gather in person at Fuji Sanctuary for the SOPP this year.
While many of you have been waiting for the SOPP to be held at Fuji Sanctuary, we have also received many comments that the online format is more in line with the times, and we are aware that the world is changing in many ways, and that we are in an era that calls for a change in thinking and fresh perspectives.
As we open today’s event, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all of you who have taken the time to connect with us from various places in Japan and around the world, and whose enthusiasm and commitment to world peace have made it possible to hold another SOPP this year. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the prayer leaders who are leading the prayers of their respective faiths for today’s ceremony.
The theme of this year’s SOPP is “Circulation: a world connected by prayer,” and the Fuji Declaration Presentation, which also focuses on this theme, is a powerful driving force for spreading the SOPP even more globally. As organizers of the SOPP, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who have contributed to today’s event. It is most wonderful that humanity’s divine spark is at the very foundation of the SOPP.
We sincerely hope that our prayers today will circulate beyond time and space, connecting all of us and the whole world as one, and will become the hope of those who live in the spirit of the divine spark. We would also like to express our deepest gratitude for your warm messages and your precious support and cooperation, both material and spiritual.