Japan: Archbishop assures that its aging society will not be able to survive

Mons. Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, Archbishop of Tokyo (Japan) and next December 7 Cardinal of the Catholic Church, spoke with the Vatican agency Fides about the present and future of the country.

The archbishop stated that “an aging society like Japan will not be able to survive,” highlighting the dangers of demographic winter. Faced with this reality, he pointed out that the government “hesitant to fully accept migrants” for fear of entering terrain never before explored in Japan, a nation unaccustomed to being a recipient of migration.

“Until now, Japan has been a markedly homogeneous country. However, the reality is that, Without the presence of migrants, Japanese society cannot sustain itself. This is a fact. It is true that immigrants arrive with different types of visas, but, due to the reluctance of the institutions, many of them are sooner or later forced to face bureaucratic problems related to their immigration status,” he stated.

Bishop Kikuchi assured that Japanese society often perceives migration as a “problem” and that, even within the Church, there is talk of the “immigrant problem.” The archbishop believed that this language reflects the “negative perception” of many Japanese about this reality.

“I firmly believe that immigrants are not a problem, but rather a hope for the Church. “They offer the Catholic community a unique opportunity to grow, especially with young people, and to proclaim the Gospel in areas where there is no active presence of the Church,” he stated.

“In a way, immigrants offer the Japanese Church the possibility of renewing itself and being more active in its mission. “This is real hope,” he added.

A look at the international panorama

Being geographically located in a strategic situation, in the midst of great world powers such as the United States, Russia and China, the country “of the rising sun” is no stranger to the diatribes and circumstances that the world is going through today.

Specifically regarding war and the growing threat of the use of nuclear power, Bishop Kikuchi was emphatic in pointing out that nuclear weapons “do not provide real protection.”

Japan recently approved a 16.5% increase (about US$56 billion) in defense spending by 2024. “They are just throwing money away,” the archbishop noted.

“Anyone who seriously analyzes the political situation in Asia understands that dialogue is the key to ensuring stability, not the threat posed by weapons. Investing more money in weapons, especially nuclear weapons, is an unnecessary and dangerous expense, since these weapons are not designed to resolve conflicts, but to destroy the world,” he commented.

In that sense, he specified that the Japanese Church will continue to carry out any initiative that contributes to the total elimination of weapons of mass destruction.

“Dialogue is the key to stability. There is no need to argue. We have to talk to each other. Dialogue is not just talking, but also building relationships. Synodality is also necessary in this area,” he concluded.