Author Archives: editor

75 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Vatican is providing moral guidance on nuclear weapons

Ahead of the 75th anniversary year of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Pope Francis visited both cities. At a solemn event at the Hiroshima Peace Park in November 2019, Francis declared the use of atomic energy for war to be … Continue reading

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75 Years after the War: A Peace Message from the Catholic Bishops of Japan – Protect all life – Peace is the path of hope

To our Brother and Sister Catholics of Japan and All People of Good Will: On the 50th anniversary of the end of the war, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan issued the message “Resolution for Peace” in light of the … Continue reading

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Seek God’s face in the poor, sick, abandoned and foreigners

Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Christians to discover the face of Jesus in the migrants, refugees and the displaced who are forced to flee because of the many injustices that still afflict our world today. 

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Message of His Holiness Pope Francis For the 54th Communications Day

“That you may tell your children and grandchildren” (Ex 10:2) Life becomes history

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Japan’s elderly workers suffer as pandemic closes businesses

On a recent Saturday in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district more than 100 people, many of them elderly men, stood close together in a long queue waiting for food hand-outs.

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Life in Japan at this time of the pandemic

Jude Peirisulle OMI – Japan is one of many countries affected by COVID -19. The first major cluster of the virus was discovered on the Diamond Princess cruise ship which had arrived in Yokohama in early February. The cruiser was put in … Continue reading

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Gender gap deeply ingrained in Japan, says top U.N. official Nakamitsu

Gender gaps remain significant in Japan as traditional roles for men and women are strongly reinforced in society and through mass media, leaving many women accustomed to restrictive norms and limited opportunities, a senior U.N. official has said.

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Japanese dioceses suspend Masses amid coronavirus epidemic

Mar 4, 2020.- Some Japanese dioceses have suspended Masses for several weeks due to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic across the country.

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Is Hikikomori (Extreme Social Withdrawal) a Global Epidemic?

In the late 1990s, just as home computers and internet access were becoming ubiquitous, people in Japan began paying closer attention to a severe form of social withdrawal—marked by the desire to be alone in one’s bedroom—that was becoming commonplace among adolescent boys. … Continue reading

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…they have seen a great light

Fr. Bernard ONDAP OMI – Last December 26-27, 2019, the Japan Oblate Delegation, joined by four diocesan clergy from Takamatsu Diocese, came together for the annual Christmas at Nakajimacho Parish Rectory in Kochi, Japan. The simple yet very meaningful atmosphere … Continue reading

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Childhood in Japan is certainly not getting any easier

The girl was 15, the teacher in his early 30s. He recognized her ability, encouraged her, befriended her, seduced her. He took her to a love hotel and said, “This is what grown-ups do.”

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Babies born in Japan to drop below 900,000 in 2019 for first time

The number of babies born in Japan fell an estimated 5.9 percent this year to fewer than 900,000, the first time since the government started compiling data in 1899, the welfare ministry said Tuesday.

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