Little Known Facts of Christian Japan

The Christian minority in Japan is very small but also very old, some may be surprised at how far back it goes. The Protestant groups mostly came to Japan recently, since the American occupation, but the Catholic and Kirishitan groups have been around for centuries. However, only about 1% of Japanese people are Christians and given that, it be surprise some to know that Japan has had seven Prime Ministers who have been Christians starting with Hara Kei in 1918 (a Catholic) and most recently Yukio Hatoyama in 2009 (a Baptist) and his immediate predecessor, Taro Aso is Catholic. Even during World War II, when most portray Japan has being entirely hostile to anything of western origin, there were men like Rear Admiral Stephen Yamamoto who was a Catholic and very close to HM the Showa Emperor. Christians have, in the past, also stepped forward to defend the culture and honor of Japan even in areas not exclusively Christian.

After World War II, in November of 1945 General Douglas MacArthur considered destroying the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo and he called in two Catholics to ask about this; Father Bruno Bitter, a Jesuit priest, and Father Patrick Byrne, a Maryknoll priest. They defended Yasukuni Shrine and persuaded General MacArthur not to destroy it, pointing out that all nations have a duty to honor their war dead and that, while a Shinto shrine, Yasukuni Shrine is a national monument that honors people of all faiths who gave their lives in the service of the Emperor and the country. The Vatican sent a representative to the Empire of Manchukuo (for a long time it was said that the Vatican was the first to recognize Manchukuo, later, when it was unpopular to have anything to do with seeming pro-Japanese it was stressed, in an odd way, that this official representative did not imply official recognition. Whatever that means. The bottom line is that, at the time, there was a representative of the Holy See to the Manchukuo government). Closer ties than some might guess were also maintained after the war.

Pope Paul VI, in 1975, granted an audience the Buddhist monk Nakata Junna 仲田順和. Nakata was the head-priest at the Honsenji 品川寺, a Shingon temple of the Daigoji　醍醐寺 lineage in Shinagawa, Tokyo. He had spoken of his admiration for Pope Paul's stand on inter-faith dialogue and wanted to be a part of this process. He also wanted to highlight the injustice of those declared to be "war criminals" by the Allies after World War II. Nakata asked Pope Paul if he would say a Mass for the repose of the souls of the 1,618 men condemned as Class A, B and C war criminals. According to Nagoshi Futaranosuke 名越二荒之助, Pope Paul said the Tokyo war crimes tribunal and the condemnations of the accused men was ‘an embarrassment,’ and the Pope agreed to say the Mass. Pope Paul VI died before this could be done but on May 22, 1980 Bl. Pope John Paul II fulfilled the promise of his predecessor and had the Mass said for the souls of those men in St Peter's square at the Vatican. Rev. Nakata Junna was invited to attend and he did so, bringing a special gift for the Pope; a replica of the pagoda from his temple, housing the names of the men being remembered.

Not many are aware that HM the Empress was raised in a Catholic home and had a Catholic education all throughout her life. When it came to her marriage to the future Emperor, it was arranged by the Anglican Grand Chamberlain Koizumi and the Catholic Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida. Today, although the Christian presence is small, one will not find any bad feelings between Japanese Christians and other religious or non-religious groups. In fact, the style and traditions of Christianity are so appreciated that many non-Christians ask to hold weddings in Catholic Churches because they admire the beauty and style so much. A special dispensation was given to make this possible because there are so many requests. The Christian community in Japan has diverse opinions, some correct and some incorrect in my view, as will invariably be the case with any group of people. However, they have made a unique contribution to the history of Japan and should always remember to be second to none in their support for their country, the Japanese community and HM the Emperor, remembering the words from I Peter 2:17 to "Show proper respect to everyone, love your community, fear God and honor the Emperor".