Pray with Japan, April 5, 2026

Lectionary Selection: John 20:1-18

Prayers for Japan

Dear God,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Creator of all things,
We praise your holy name.
The world you love is still filled with difficulties.
But we believe there is a plan, your plan of salvation, that is there beyond our human thought.
Please guide us so that we can respect each other and walk together with mutual care.
We pray that the issues and ideas shared in this forum will help bring true peace to your beloved world.
We who walk together on the journey of faith offer this prayer before you,
through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

Prayer by the Rev. Shoko Aminaka, General Secretary for the United Church of Christ in Japan, offered at the Second Forum on De-militarization

Mission Moment from Japan

“I am the pastor of Ube Midoribashi Church and Ube Church of the United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ).” Rev. Taisaku Obata, Moderator of the UCCJ’s West Chugoku District, situates his faith communities in relation to places marked by violence and death. “Both churches are located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, which is home to what is said to be the largest US military base in East Asia, at Iwakuni.”

The area is also home to the city of Hiroshima, where recent encounters have renewed the relationship between Global Ministries and the West Chugoku District. For the Christian community there, global military power is not abstract but a daily reality. The partnership presented an opportunity to build bridges of peace as an alternative to war.

Like Mary’s encounter with the risen Christ showed a way out of the tomb, Rev. Obata believes that Christian faithfulness can move us out of the shadow of militarization. “I believe that the arms of Jesus Christ will connect everything and lead us to true peace,” he says. The friendship between Global Ministries and West Chugoku has led to near-monthly group meetings. These gatherings have been moments of careful listening and looking for signs of resurrection amid entrenched systems of force.

The group has sponsored two dialogue Forums on Demilitarization. The first, in May 2025, featured the impact of multiple U.S. bases on the people and environment of the Okinawan islands. A keynote by U.S. scholar David Vine, author of Base Nation, connected Okinawa’s experience with other military communities, revealing shared patterns of militarization across continents.

The second Forum, held this February, compared Japan’s Article 9 and Costa Rica’s Article 12. Both are Constitutional commitments to renounce war, restrict standing armies, and subordinate military power to civilian authority. Presentations by Takuya Iizuka, Chair of the National Christian Council in Japan’s Committee on Peace and Reconciliation in East Asia, and Jonathan Pimentel Chacón, a Professor of Theology in Costa Rica, proposed a vision of what security without permanent militarization might look like.

Plans are underway for a third Forum to continue the conversation. There is also hope of organizing a group immersion to Okinawa, so participants can encounter firsthand the lived realities behind systems of military violence. What began as a local pastoral concern has become a growing international fellowship committed to imagining peace grounded in justice and the promise of life beyond death.

Partners in Japan

More about Japan

Make a gift to support the work of the United Church of Christ in Japan