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Reformed Thought for Christian Living
Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier brought Roman Catholic Christianity to Japan in 1549. Some regional overlords professed Christianity, were baptised, and permitted missionaries to evangelise. However, during the Edo shogunate of […]
Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier brought Roman Catholic Christianity to Japan in 1549. Some regional overlords professed Christianity, were baptised, and permitted missionaries to evangelise. However, during the Edo shogunate of the 1600s, the country entered a time of international isolation which lasted until 1853. During that time, Christianity was seen as a tool of Western imperial colonialism. Christians were intensely persecuted and the visible church completely repressed, although small groups of ‘hidden Christians’ secretly continued a version of Catholicism in remote regions of Nagasaki prefecture.
Christianity has been officially tolerated since 1853. Japan’s post-WW2 constitution guarantees religious freedom. But Christianity continues to be alien to Japanese culture.
The Presbyterian Church in Japan (PCJ) is a mission partner church of the PCA. Their moderator, Rev Mamoru Otake, visited our General Assembly of Australia (GAA) last month, along with their General Secretary Rev Akinobu Saito. Rev Otake brought us this greeting from the PCJ. We thank Rev Makoto Fukuda from the Japanese congregation of Canterbury Presbyterian Church Victoria for translating it.
I offer my heartfelt praise in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to attend this General Assembly. I am delighted to be able to meet you all in person and share fellowship in the Lord.
I would also like to express my heartfelt gratitude for the prayers and support you have offered in various ways for the churches in Japan and for the preaching of the Gospel in Japan. In particular, we are delighted that discussions are currently underway between the Presbyterian Church in Japan and the Presbyterian Church of Australia with a view to renewing our mission agreement. As churches serving the same Lord Jesus Christ, we will pray for and encourage one another, and work together for the sake of mission. We hope that this relationship will be further deepened in the future.
Many years have passed since Christianity was first introduced to Japan. However, even today, the proportion of Christians in Japan’s population remains very small, at around 0.85 per cent. Christians are a minority within Japanese society.
Furthermore, Japanese society itself is undergoing significant change. The population is declining as the birth rate falls and the population ages.
Ties within local communities are also weakening. Many churches are facing challenges such as an ageing congregation, a decline in the younger generation, a decrease in membership, and a shortage of pastors.
The Presbyterian Church in Japan also finds itself situated within this context surrounding Christianity in Japan. We, too, are acutely aware of the challenges posed by an ageing congregation, a decline in the younger generation, and a shortage of pastors and theology lecturers. As we enter these challenging times, we wish to learn from and draw encouragement from our fellowship with churches around the world.
In this sense, our fellowship with you on this occasion is of great significance to us. We hope to learn a great deal from you all.
We also sincerely hope that the mission agreement we are about to sign will not remain a mere document, but will lead to actual missionary work; networking amongst pastors and missionaries; exchanges between theology students and young church members; learning about mission work; and sharing prayer requests.
There are many churches and ministries that would benefit greatly from a visit by a missionary. One of the elders in my church is Australian. If anyone is considering mission work in Japan, I would be delighted if you could get in touch.
Please continue to pray for the Presbyterian Church in Japan. We, too, would like to pray for the Presbyterian Church of Australia. May we continue to build an ever-stronger relationship. We look forward to your continued support.
Mamoru Otake, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Japan
Kamal was born in Sri Lanka and migrated to Australia with his parents as a teenager. He is now a Presbyterian Church minister, convener of the Church’s Relations With Other Churches (RWOC) ecumenical committee, and an adjunct lecturer at Christ College Presbyterian Theological College Sydney.
