{"id":25151,"date":"2025-06-18T16:01:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T14:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vedruna.org\/commitment-to-peace-in-japan\/"},"modified":"2025-06-19T17:37:54","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T15:37:54","slug":"commitment-to-peace-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vedruna.org\/en\/commitment-to-peace-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Commitment to Peace in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The new edition of Dialogue and Encounter<\/em> magazine is now available.<\/strong> This issue, entitled Peace, the fruit of justice<\/strong><\/em>urges us to look squarely at the root causes of armed conflict and to commit ourselves actively to building a culture of peace. The complete magazine can be downloaded by clicking on the following link, choosing your language: <\/p>\n\n

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Download the complete magazine<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Today we highlight an article from the Vedruna in the world<\/strong> section ,<\/strong> written by Mitsue Shirahama<\/strong>, ccv. After World War II, Japan began a path toward peace and democracy. The Church, including the Vedruna family, has promoted the defense of Article 9, the antimilitarist struggle and the commitment to justice and peace. <\/p>\n\n

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A bit of history<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

After World War II, Japan surrendered in August 1945 with great humiliation after the destruction of two major cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, due to the dropping of atomic bombs (the first of its kind in the history of mankind). With this, military rule in Japan, which had lasted for a long time, invading and causing great damage to neighboring countries, ended and the creation of a more democratic government began. <\/p>\n\n

At this time, under the demand and surveillance of the United States, a new Constitution was drafted, which included the absolute rejection of armament and war. Article 9 of the Constitution explicitly forbids the creation of an army and the use of armaments for war or invasion of other countries. However, today, almost 80 years after the end of World War II, Japan remains subordinate to the United States and seeks to remain under its wing as a major military power. In this context, the Japanese government is seeking to amend Article 9 in order to become an active military ally of the United States. <\/p>\n\n

The Church in Japan, after the creation of the National Commission for Justice and Peace in the 1970s, linked to the Vatican, began a process of awareness-raising among Christians. However, this was a slow process, since many Christians had a spirituality rooted in the Church for centuries, focused exclusively on the salvation of souls, leaving aside the human and social dimension. It took many years for the Christian community to grow in this new awareness. Over time, the Church in Japan has developed a more critical vision in the face of social injustices and in defense of human rights. In our Vedruna Province, we have followed a similar process. Before, we could not even talk about social and political problems or speak out in favor of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which was under threat. Today, we have a more critical view and are more sensitive to social problems, which allows us to speak calmly about these issues. <\/p>\n

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