2025.09.30
World Peace Day 2025
There are many famous dates in the year that most people in Japan know. Children’s Day, for example, is May 5. Christmas is December 25. New Year’s Day is of course January 1. But what about September 21? Do you know what day that is?
The answer is World Peace Day. In 2001 the United Nations declared that September 21 would be the International Day of Peace all over the world. People around the globe mark this day through such things as peace marches, school activities, and community events. In recent years at Eiwa the students have reflected on the meaning of peace in their English classes and written down what they thought peace was. I really love their ideas. Here are some of them.
This past Friday, Sept. 19, was English Day here at our school. On English Day we give the morning talk in English and try to use English in many ways during the day. It was my turn to have the honor of speaking in the morning and so I talked about peace. What is peace? It is made up of so many things, isn’t it? It’s much more than just ‘no war.’ A society needs to value things like equality, justice, respect, freedom and the environment for it to truly be at peace. If we look at the people and groups who have won the Nobel Peace Prize, we can really see how broad the idea of peace is. Malala Yousafzai, for example, was recognized for her fight for education for girls. Martin Luther King, Jr. won the award for leading the battle for equality for black people. Mother Teresa, another Nobel laureate, focused on helping the poor and the sick.
This year’s winner of the Nobel Peace Prize will be announced in early October. Last year’s winner was Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese group which is working hard to get rid of nuclear weapons. I’m excited to see who this year’s winner will be and learn how they are helping to make our world a more peaceful place. Achieving peace is a difficult task, but through hard work and love, I believe we will succeed.
