Nippon Sei Ko Kai 49th Regular General Synod, 23 May 1996

Resolution No. 34(Excerpt from Minutes)

Statement on War Responsibility of Nippon Sei Ko Kai
1. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai, after 50 years since the end of World War II,
admits its responsibility and confesses its sin for having supported andallowed, before and during the war, the colonial rule and the war ofaggression by the State of Japan.
In 1945, The Nippon Sei Ko Kai was at a historic turning point – the endof Japan’s invasion and colonial rule in the Asia-Pacific region. At thespecial session of the 21st Genera synod held in the same year, Bishop
Paul Shinji Sasaki expressed the church’s repentance for what it had
done during the war period, and pointed out that the Church had chosen
to comply with the government policy and had forgotten its mission. At
that moment, the General Synod, as well as the House of Bishops, theDioceses and Parishes should also have deeply repented for not having
fulfilled their prophetic role. They should also have made a sincere
apology to their neighbours whom Japan had invaded and ruled, andshould have sought a truly reconciled relationship with them.
Since establishment, The Nippon Sei Ko Kai has been making
compromises with the idea of a Tenno (God in Heaven) ruled nation andmilitarism which go against the Gospel, and has not been able to resist
strongly against, or refuse those principles. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai wasoppressed by the authorities, and some priests and lay people
experienced the struggle of faith. But despite these bitter experiences,
our Church has not been able to stand beside those who are oppressedand suffering. Despite its more recent internationalism, our Churchhas not been able to see Japan as an aggressor I the war. In fact, using
the ‘Special Prayer for the China Incident’ and ‘Special Prayer for theGreater East Asia War’ (WWII), our Church has justified Japan’s ruleover other ethnic groups and supported the war under the name ofChristianity. We have been a closed Church close main concern is theexpansion of the membership and the retention of the institution, thisbeing unable to serve as the salt and for the earth as indicated in theGospel.

2. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai confesses to God and apologises to the people inAsia and the Pacific that we did not admit our fault immediately after the1end of the war, were unaware of our responsibility for the past 50 years,
and have not actively called for reconciliation and compensation until
today.
At the 22nd General Synod in 1947, The Nippon Sei Ko Kai officiallyadopted The Book of Common Prayer issued in 1938. The Book
included prayers for the Tenno and ‘Kigensetsu’, which regarded theTenno and his officials. During the Holy Communion, a priest prayedfor God’s blessing for all who had sovereignty especially the Tenno. Inthis way, even after the war, The Nippon Sei Ko Kai continued to use
The Book of Common Prayer, which justified the Tenno system ofgovernment as God’s will. These are the major issues to be questioned
with regard to the war responsibility, but the Church has neglected tochange its attitude.
The Diocese of Okinawa has been telling the stories about massacres of
Okinawan people and forced collective suicides among them, which
occurred during the war as a result of the government policy to regard
the people as subordinates of the Tenno. They have also been pointing
out the treats of the US Military bases in Okinawa throughout thepost-war period. Before its transfer to the Nippon Sei Ko Kai in 1972,
the Diocese of Okinawa had asked the Nippon Sei Ko Kai to understand
Okinawa’s history and its situation. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai must repent
that it has neglected to respond to that call until today.

3. The Nippon Sei Ko Kai confesses that, even after the war, it has yet to
get rid of discriminatory attitudes. We pray that we will be changed torecognise our mission to do justice as the people of God, and, as thevessels of peace, to listen to the voices of the divisions, pains, cries andsufferings of the world.
As a sign of repentance, we the people of The Nippon Sei Ko Kai will dothe following:i.
to share the confession of our war responsibilities among all of
the parishesii.
to convey an apology to the Churches in the countries which
Japan had invadediii.
to start and continue a programme in each Diocese and Parish, toreview the historical facts and to deepen our understanding of theGospel.

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