letter from Japan
In the city where we minister, every area has a Community Business Association. Despite not being a business, our church was invited to join our local association; we’re the only church in the city to be a member of one.
This has given us many opportunities to meet people, to publicise the church in local shops, and also to participate in local community events.
At government-supported events like these, both religious and political activities are prohibited, but this year our church participated in the local summer festival for the seventh year.
The church's booth
Over 200 people came to the church’s booth (craft, table tennis, play area), spent time with church folks and received a gospel tract and leaflets about the church.
Our particular community association allows and encourages our participation, but if anyone at the festival complained, that would be the end of it. We are thankful to God for this unusual opportunity and pray for gospel fruit.
Changing political landscape?
The recent election in Japan saw a nationalist party go from one seat in parliament to 15. They are pressing for the Emperor to be once more regarded as divine – a lynchpin of the pre-war constitution and a significant factor in the whole country getting behind the war effort.
They also propose the nationalisation of the Shinto shrines. Shinto, Japan’s ancient belief, was redefined and manipulated for the war effort (indeed many aspects of modern Shinto were invented by politicians before the war). These policies led to government control of the church (and persecution for those who resisted) in the 1930/40s. Shinto has never been regarded as a “religion”, so it is often exempted from “no religious activities” rules, and the state/religion separation.
Please pray for the Japanese church as it seeks to be a faithful witness in this political environment.
