On Tuesday, December 16, an interview with Osamu Arakawa, Director of ARI, and Debora, a graduate from Indonesia who now serves as a volunteer, was published in the morning edition of Shimotsuke Shimbun. The article appeared as the seventh and final installment of the series “Forms of Peace: Tochigi 80 Years After the War – Lingering Scars, Inherited Pain.”
We deeply appreciate that the newspaper chose to focus not only on Japanese perspectives but also on the voices of people from countries once invaded by Japan, and that they selected ARI in Tochigi Prefecture as a place worthy of coverage.
This year, on the occasion of our Foundation Day in September, ARI issued its own Peace Declaration and centered the theme of peace in the latest issue of our newsletter “Ajia no Tsuchi”.
“I wish to oppose war itself from the standpoint of protecting life and dignity, against the prevailing atmosphere of war and arguments justifying nuclear deterrence. Peace is not merely the absence of conflict; we must face each other’s differences and pain, and build relationships with sincerity. I believe this attitude is the basis for a society where may we live together.” (Osamu Arakawa)
As we enter a new year, we remain committed to engaging with these issues with sincerity and resolve.
Shimotsuke Shimbun digital article: https://www.shimotsuke.co.jp/articles/-/1249037
Article on the Peace Declaration (posted September 19, 2025): https://ari.ac.jp/en/foundation-day-20250916/
Full text of the ARI Peace Declaration: https://ari.ac.jp/en/asian-rural-institute-peace-declaration/
