Bishop, what is the reality of the Church in Japanese society?
The history of the Church in my country is ancient, and began in 1549 with Saint Francis Xavier, Patron of the Missions, who sowed the first seeds of the Christian presence in the country, leaving a legacy of over 300,000 Christians, according to the reports of the Jesuits from the mid-sixteenth century. In the alternating events that followed over the centuries between persecutions, hidden resistances and rebirths, today there would be a little more than 1 million Catholics out of a population of 125 million, including many foreign Catholics who are not registered in their parishes. Therefore, according to official statistics, Catholics are about 0.7% of the population.
A Catholic population that is strongly international today, right?
“That’s right. Many of the Catholics in Japan are foreigners, and in most cases they are not officially registered – while in the official registers there are only those who make a monthly contribution to the Church, and they are mostly Japanese. I can give an example with my diocese: there are 22,000 registered Catholics, and these are 80% Japanese; but there will actually be about 100,000 Catholics, and this large portion of the unregistered are mostly foreigners: mainly from Brazil, Peru, and the rest of Latin America, but also Filipinos. And recently new waves of Vietnamese have arrived: there are currently more than 500,000 Vietnamese in Japan, among those who came as "Boat People" and the hundreds of thousands of young people who most recently came as apprentices.
Therefore, a numerically very small Church. What are the things that give substance and credibility to the Church?
A merit of the Japanese Church is that it has been able to enter into the social reality of the time. For example, in the mid-twentieth century the country was really very poor and the Church recognised the need for health facilities. In general, the Church is engaged in all kinds of social promotion activities: kindergartens, shelters, attention also to migrants... And another highly appreciated area is education. If there is a society with a high cultural level in Japan today, it is also thanks to the Church. And the commitment of many missionaries dedicated to this field – not just us Salesians. This also opens up another consideration.
Which one?
That commitment to education such as there is in Japan also brings with it a commitment to inculturation. 99% of the students in Catholic schools are non-Christian, so we must be able to provide an education according to Christian values, inculturated in the local reality. On closer inspection it is a clear manifestation of Don Bosco's call to form "upright citizens".
The path of inculturation in Japan must not be easy...
It is necessary: especially in dioceses and missionary situations the importance has been well understood, which for us means first of all overcoming the language barrier. Many missionaries arrive, but then they give up and go back. So it has now been established that all missionaries must spend the first two years studying the language. It takes dedication and persistence. And then, the process of learning the social and family customs of the Japanese world never ends for the missionary. It is the same for any foreigner living in Japan.
You have twice been an immigrant, as a Japanese in Argentina and as an "Argentine with a Japanese face" in Japan, and today you are Head of Pastoral Care for Migrants in the Japanese Bishops' Conference. What do you want to tell us about this topic?
As I said before, there are also many foreigners in Japan today: according to current statistics, there are almost three million. For example, the Prelature of Saitama, to which my diocese belongs, has almost 200,000 foreigners and ranks third among the prelatures with the most foreigners, followed by Tokyo, Aichi, Osaka and Kanagawa. It seems to me that is it a phenomenon we must become aware of. The Japanese policy in this regard is quite strict and together with other Bishops, especially with Archbishop Tarcizio Isao Kikuchi, President of the Episcopal Conference of Japan, we are asking for special attention from the Japanese Government for those children born or raised in Japan, but from foreign parents who do not have or have lost their residence visa and therefore not even their children have it and live in an irregular situation. So even if they can study, when they become adults they do not have the right to work legally, to have their own bank account. In this I can say that the Salesian style is very important for dialogue with government authorities, because, as emulators of Don Bosco we Salesians have an approach that helps us to know how to deal with people, even when it comes to people in important positions.
In the case of Catholic immigrants, I also notice a certain difference compared to Japanese Catholics: many of them were not practising in their country of origin, but then in Japan, due to the difficulties encountered, they find communities that welcome them, where they can meet together in the parish, which is no longer only the place for celebrations and sacraments, but above all a space to fraternise and receive the energy to move forward. Immigrant Christians are very active in social service and committed as "Good Samaritans", but perhaps they can take an example from Japanese Catholics in cultivating solidarity in the financial support of their parish communities. And for missionaries there is a great evangelising challenge, so that attention to foreigners does not diminish their evangelising zeal towards the Japanese: it is urgent to revive the evangelising impulse to make Christ known in society.
What have you to say about the Salesians?
The Sons of Don Bosco set foot in Japan in 1926, and in fact we are now close to the Centenary. When the first pioneers arrived, including the Venerable Fr Vincenzo Cimatti, they did everything possible: they were few, without money, with little staff...
Today there are about 80 Salesians in Japan, engaged with different houses and works such as orphanages, schools and parishes... according to a "prophetic dimension in education": where the hands of the State do not reach, we must reach.
What are the main challenges you see for the Congregation in your country?
The challenges have changed a lot: the first missionaries worked with Japanese; now we must also dedicate ourselves to accompanying the integration and above all the education of immigrants, and in our parishes to work for and with Catholic immigrants. Salesians, like other religious congregations, are exemplary in this process of creating and forming intercultural communities in our parishes. The first phase of offering Masses in different languages as a special pastoral service is already giving way to the consolidation of an intercultural community, that is, Japanese and foreigners forming a single Church in Japan. But this is a substantial and ongoing challenge, because we all have a natural tendency to a certain nationalism or to want to have our own particular church, closing ourselves in on the creation of our language groups and not seeing the social and ecclesial reality of today's Japan, which is intercultural.
But I think the biggest challenge is interacting with the most needy young people, because it is often the middle range, economically and socially, that arrive in Salesian works. It is precisely the school system that works like this: the school has its own rhythms, and those who cannot keep up with it are left out. Sometimes we see teenage girls, including Japanese, who are pregnant and who have abortions so as not to miss the school year. Or women, especially young migrants forced to have abortions so as not to lose their jobs. These are important challenges, however there is a growing awareness of having to act together, in a network, between Congregations and with the dioceses as well as with non-Catholic social works that work for refugees, immigrants and the most vulnerable people in society.
What about priestly vocations or religious life?
New novices and those in initial formation are arriving in Japan, along with waves of immigration. Particularly noteworthy is the group of novices from neighbouring Asian countries, especially from Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines... But also from Africa; some missionaries continue to arrive from Europe, but almost none from Latin America, although there is a considerable number of immigrants, especially descendants of Japanese origin from Brazil (about 200,000), Peru (about 48,000) and far fewer from Bolivia, Argentina... Almost all congregations, both male and female, have already been on the move for years to create communities with intercultural members, recreating their charism in Japan. I see that religious life is no stranger to the process of interculturation that is taking place in Japanese society, and I could even say that in some ways it is a model for the way we should build the future of Japan. At the level of diocesan clergy in Japan there is only one major seminary in Tokyo, but the number of seminarians ranges from 25 to 35 as well as younger and older candidates. Some religious families share theological studies with diocesan seminarians. This favors fraternisation between religious and diocesan, as well as between Japanese and foreigners.
Just as it was for Don Bosco and our missionaries, a vocation needs passion. And we must not forget that the educative and pastoral communities are larger than the Salesians alone: today I rejoice in seeing the Salesian Family united, with laity, young people, Salesians...
In conclusion, how do you see the Salesian Family in Japan in the future?
I'm confident. I believe that God loves the Salesians very much. And then there are also the Salesian Cooperators, the Association of Mary Help of Christians, which has managed to renew itself well, with many young members, increasingly open to all cultural and even inter-religious members present in Japan. And then above all I am convinced that we are guardians of a universal prophetic and charismatic message: the Preventive System is not only for Catholics, but for all those who want a full life and is what today's young people need to become true citizens and builders of a new humanity.
Do not forget to pray for the Church in Japan, for the Salesians and the Salesian Family, and also for me and for the diocese of Saitama. Thank you very much, Fr Harris, for this interview held at the Salesian Sant'Anna community in the Vatican on 15 April on the occasion of my first Ad Limina Apostolorum visit.
