Crux

The Catholic Church in Japan is observing its annual Ten Days of Prayer for Peace from August 6 to 15, commemorating the period during which the country suffered two nuclear attacks and eventually surrendered, ending World War II. The Archbishop of Tokyo, Cardinal Isao Kikuchi, told Crux Now the prayer initiative is a legacy of Pope St. John Paul II, who visited the country early in his pontificate. “Speaking out for peace at this time of the year has become tradition since the pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II to Hiroshima in 1981,” Kikuchi said. The cardinal also told Crux Now it has become tradition for the Catholic bishops to issue a message during the summer calling Catholics and all people of goodwill to renew their commitment to peace through prayer, solidarity, and concrete action. Issued July 10, the 2026 message is from Kikuchi himself – as president of the bishops’ conference of Japan – and forcefully expresses grave concerns about recent changes in Japan’s own defense policy. “With the excuse of changes in the security environment, defense spending has been rapidly increased,” Kikuchi noted in his message. Those changes include the deployment of long-range missiles, the strengthened presence of Japan’s Self-Defense Force on the Nansei Islands, and conditional permission to export weapons with lethal capabilities. These policy changes have come more than a decade after the Japanese government under Shinzo Abe circumvented Japan’s constitutional amendment process by reinterpreting Article 9 of the country’s constitution at the cabinet level. “[The] Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes,” Article 9 states, prohibiting maintenance of “land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential.” Japan began building its Self Defense Force in the 1950s and was deploying the SDF in UN peacekeeping missions as early as the 1990s. Since 2014, there has been an increasingly concerted push for Japan further to erode or even abandon its postwar commitments. “While the framework of ‘exclusively defense’ remains,” Kikuchi wrote in his July 10 message, “its essence continues to change significantly.” Observers and Japanese citizens on all sides of the question say much of Japan’s recent internal political push for rearmament has been a response to rising tensions with China and more general global instability. Japan’s current Prime Minister, conservative Sanae Takaichi, came up under Shinzo Abe and is widely recognized as Abe’s protégé. She has embraced Abe’s economic policies and has significantly advanced and expanded Japan’s military spending. Speaking to Crux Now ahead of the 10 Days of Prayer for Peace, Kikuchi said Japan’s constitutional repudiation of war is important wisdom, hard learned and abandoned at great peril. “[A] majority of the Japanese population has been born after World War II,” and “tend to allow the government to move toward militarizing defense policy,” Kikuchi said. “That is the path we followed into World War II,” the cardinal told Crux Now. What follows is a transcript of Crux Now’s exchange with Cardinal Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, edited for length and clarity: Crux Now: Why did the Church feel it was necessary to speak out on Japan’s defense policy now? Kikuchi: Speaking out for peace at this time of the year has become tradition since the pastoral visit of Pope John Paul II to Hiroshima in 1981. Inspired by his message for peace, the Japanese bishops established 10 Days of Prayer for Peace from August 6 to 15. So, issuing a peace message prior to summer has become our custom. In addition, reflecting on social instability and anxiety caused by armed conflicts in many parts of the world, and some superpowers’ unpredictable policy changes, are affecting societies throughout East Asia. We also have yet another unpredictable superpower here in the region. Because of such changes of political climate, assisted by our new conservative government led by the very first lady prime minister who has her own aggressive defense policy, the general public have been left behind to wonder what will come next. In this context, as a majority of the Japanese population has been born after World War II, we tend to allow the government to move toward militarizing defense policy. That is the path we followed into World War II. These are the reasons behind my message for peace on behalf of the bishops’ conference of Japan. Why does the Church view this issue not only as a political matter, but as a moral one? Majority view of moral principle may have impact over policymakers’ choices. War cannot be stopped only by laws, such as Article 9 of Japan’s constitution. Laws have power only when the majority support implementation of the law. Calling for peace is moral issue by all means. Where does the Church draw the line between necessary defense and a dangerous military buildup? Pope Leo XIV has been calling for peace without arms. We fully agree with the Holy Father and support his calling for the perfection of peace. However, it cannot be achieved overnight. There is a path we must follow. It is not the issue of the capability of arms, but how much trust we could build among nations so that nations walk together. It sounds absurd, stupid or naïve, but unless we achieve trust among nations, peace without arms cannot be real. We want people to be stubbornly honest in adhering to the idea of peace without arms, even though it looks unrealistic and absurd.

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