Peaceful New Year 2026

New Year Greetings from Peace Boat 2026

As we welcome 2026, we send our warmest New Year wishes and our sincere thanks for your continued engagement with and support for Peace Boat throughout 2025.

The past year marked 80 years since the end of World War II and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.This anniversary came at a time when the world is more militarised and experiencing more active conflicts than at any point since 1945. In 2025, people around the world continued to face devastating impacts of armed conflict and violence, including in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan. Peace Boat stands in solidarity with all those affected by war and genocide.

In this context, Peace Boat launched the Time for Peace Project, a special initiative bringing together survivor testimony, peace education, and youth engagement. Launched onboard Peace Boat’s 120th Global Voyage in April, the project creates space to reflect on historical memory while asking how peace can be built in an increasingly militarised world.

As part of this initiative, Peace Boat began a partnership with the Nobel Peace Center to host an outreach edition of the exhibition A Message to Humanity onboard our ship. The exhibition focuses on Nihon Hidankyo, the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and centres the voices and lived experiences of the Hibakusha. Based on the exhibition shown at the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, it invites participants to confront the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and the continued urgency of nuclear abolition. To date, the exhibition has been seen by more than 2,000 people across 20 countries worldwide.

In August, Peace Boat proudly co-hosted the reception Time for Peace together with the United Nations Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. This special gathering marked 80 years since the end of World War II and the foundation of the United Nations, and formed part of the Peace, Human Security, and Dignity Theme Week at the Expo.

Throughout the year, Peace Boat continued to call for an end to the genocide and devastation in Gaza and for the protection of civilian life, sailing with the Stop Killing Gaza banner. Participants onboard engaged in education and humanitarian fundraising as part of Peace Boat’s wider efforts to support the people of Palestine, while calling for the immediate entry of food, medical aid, and essential supplies into Gaza. As part of the Time for Peace Project, survivors of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence resulting from Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine were invited onboard Peace Boat’s 120th Global Voyage to share their testimonies.

Rising militarisation, military spending, and armed conflict are key drivers of the climate crisis. In 2025, Peace Boat contributed to the organisation of the Global Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice and brought this perspective to COP30 in Belém, Brazil, where we worked with partners to highlight demilitarisation as an often overlooked but essential component of climate justice. This work drew attention to military emissions and the need to redirect resources from war toward climate solutions, and was closely linked to Peace Boat’s engagement on oceans and youth leadership, including participation in the UN Ocean Conference in Nice.

Alongside the Time for Peace Project, Peace Boat continued its long-standing work on nuclear abolition in this anniversary year by participating in the Third Meeting of States Parties to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the United Nations Headquarters, as well as the Hiroshima ICAN Academy. This work was carried out as part of the Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and in close collaboration with Nihon Hidankyo.

As we begin 2026, our work with our partners for peace is more important than ever. At a time when government-to-government tensions are intensifying and nationalism that undermines international cooperation is being promoted, including in East Asia, Peace Boat remains committed to nurturing mutual understanding and friendship through people-to-people exchange. We will continue building connections across borders and generations, and advancing peace, climate justice, and ocean protection together.

We are deeply grateful to all those who have travelled with us, collaborated with us, and supported our work, and we look forward to continuing this journey in the year ahead.

With our warmest wishes for a peaceful, just, and hopeful New Year,

Peace Boat