Japan’s Christians commemorate 6 months since earthquake, tsunami

(September 12, 2011) Memorial observances were held throughout Japan on Sunday as the nation marked six months since the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster of March 11. In Tokyo, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan (CBCJ) and the National Christian Council in Japan conducted a joint service in remembrance of the victims of the quake and tsunami at the United Church of Christ in Japan’s Shitaya Church in Tokyo. It began with the tolling of a bell at 2:46 p.m., the time the disaster struck. Archbishop Takeo Okada of Tokyo was among some 180 people gathered for the service, which also had the support of the Japan Evangelical Association. The congregation offered prayers in memory of the victims, for the recovery of the worst-affected regions, and for a swift resolution to the nuclear crisis that arose in the wake of the tragedy. During the ecumenical gathering, Isao Tadokoro of Caritas Japan gave a short account of the relief work the Catholic Church is engaged in. Similar memorials for the dead and prayers for renewal in the disaster-struck areas echoed in the hearts and actions of Catholics throughout Japan. Also on Sunday, Bishop Tetsuo Hiraga of Sendai diocese, which was among the hardest-hit by the disaster, released a document looking back on activities of the Church over the past six months and its plan for the next year-and-a-half to be completed by the end of March, 2013.