I would like to express my gratitude to the Fourth Asian Delegate Conference on this 77th anniversary of the founding of Jinrui Aizenkai, Universal love and brotherhood.

I want to welcome the participants with great enthusiasm and tell you how much I appreciate your coming from abroad and from all over Japan.

I pay special tribute to those who have worked for many years for the Aizen Movement, which is based on the principle of Bankyou Dokon --that all religions spring from the same divine root.

I also appreciate your participation yesterday in the second prayer offering and world religious forum. I believe we share the feeling that we are living in a world full of conflict, increasingly so after last year's September 11 attack.

In the founding pledge of Aizenkai 77 years ago, Onisaburo Deguchi said:

"First of all, men are naturally brethren, and of one flesh. From the depth of the spirit of all men, a cry arises to return to this basic principle, the highest ideal of humankind. Therefore we must transcend all barriers such as differences of race, nationality and religion, and awaken to the noble cause of universal brotherhood, in order to escape from this calamity and at the same time go on to build a world of light for eternal ages on this earth."

This purpose of the Aizen Movement is just as fresh today in the 21st century as it was eight decades ago. And to accomplish this purpose, we each must become a real practitioner of the Aizen Spirit.

There is another thing that I would like to emphasize thorough the words of Onisaburo. We believe that from God's point of view, the life of any single human being is the most important thing on earth. So that means the essence of evil is to devote oneself to taking another's life.

I hope from the bottom of my heart that this conference, with its theme of "The Aizen Movement in Asia in the 21 Century," will contribute toward our goal for a new world. Thank you very much.