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Peace in North East Asia: Challenges to the Churches in Japan and Korea
2015 JOINT CONSULTATION WITH NCCJ AND NCCK
Over the years, the churches in Japan and Korea, especially NCCJ and NCCK, have enjoyed a vibrant and active partnership, mutually being reconciling voices for peace and agents of hope. Korean churches have prayed sincerely for the victims of atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and have worked and continue to work for the end of nuclear weapons. In the days when Korean society was undergoing severe military dictatorship, the Japanese church mobilized international support and solidarity for human rights and democracy in Korea. The Tozanso Process of 1984 was a precious time in which the churches of Japan, under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, provided a platform for North and South Korean churches to begin sincere dialogue and cooperation. The Korean church expresses her solidarity to the church and people in Japan as they presently struggle to keep their Peace Constitution and to recover from the wound of the 2011 tsunami.
Solidarity and cooperation have flourished despite the presence of tension and conflict between the nations of Japan and Korea, with groups of women, youth, URM activists and congregation or Presbytery partnerships working together on a regular basis. The last full-scale consultation between the NCCJ and NCCK, however, occurred in Japan in December, 2004. In the last 11 years, both churches have faced a conservative swing in their governments as well as in their society. Additionally, peace and security in the region is seriously threatened as the arms race intensifies. In the midst of this conflict and confrontation, we are called by God to work more closely than ever in order to address the emerging challenges we face together.
In this context, on the days of Oct. 15-17, our two Councils of Churches held a bi-lateral consultation with the theme, Peace in North East Asia: The Role of the Japanese and Korean Churches, to affirm our common faith and vision, and renew our commitment to unity, justice, peace and reconciliation.
The Consultation began on the morning of Thursday with opening worship at 9:30. Symbols of peace were laid by representatives of NCCJ and NCCK. Rev. Hwang Yong Dae, NCCK Moderator reflected on the words of Matthew 5:9, saying, “Come, Cultivate Peace”. As the farmer seeds crops, so Christians are called to sow seeds of peace.
The first session, moderated by Rev. Miyamoto Yoshihiro of UCCJ, was a lecture by Professor Yi Ki Ho, “The Construction of Peace, Regional Co-Existence and Prosperity in Northeast Asia: the Roles of Japan and Korea”. He talked about the struggle to fully remember past situations so that peace can be built upon a solid foundation, and therefore the vital importance of authentic history. Because of circumstances, the end of World War II is comprehended differently by Japan, who experienced defeat, and by Korea, who experienced liberation. The countries have lived for 70 years in a post-war regime in which both nations have concentrated on economic success, national security and nationalism. Prof. Yi’s point was that leaders should start thinking about the citizens, not to develop the national status, but the potential and the identity of each person. His last point was that religious people and scholars have the responsibility to lead a new reformation of justice, in both Korea and in Japan, and called on all present to Re-Member the future, to build again a solid foundation of peace with justice.
A criticism given to Prof. Yi’s lecture was that he spoke about Japan and South Korea as completely sovereign for making decisions, while North Korea is a very influential player in this region and therefore needs to be considered in any discussion for peace.
Following were reflections by NCCJ Moderator, Rev. Kobashi Kouichi and Father Yoo Sikyung of Korean Anglican Church on the Role of Korean and Japanese Churches in Peacemaking in Northeast Asia. It was suggested there be a Decade of Koinonia between the Christian Church of Korea and Japan.
Reports were given around work that had jointly been undertaken between Korean churches and Japanese churches, in the areas of URM, Women, Peace and Youth.
Rev. Harata Mitsuo of URM described the movement of the population to the cities in Japan after the defeat in the war, and the social problems created in the urban setting. At the same time, the rural area has to endure the major problem of marginalization and invisibility to the majority of society. So the placement of military bases (particularly in Okinawa) and nuclear power plants are very destructive to community, but the people do not have the power to influence political decisions.
Rev. Ueda Hiroko described the work of the Women’s Desk. She mentioned the importance of the NCCJ/NCCK Women’s exchange consultations which had taken place every two years for quite a long time. Other activities carried out by the Women’s Desk are working for the elderly, human trafficking, especially as a result of economic poverty, and participation in the Nabi (Butterfly) Fund of the “Comfort Women”/ Women drafted into sexual slavery by the Japanese Military.
Miss Choi Ah Ji of PROK Youth described the history of youth exchanges. In the late 70’s there was significant prejudice being expressed by Koreans and Japanese against each other, so in 1979 a Youth Committee began to hold gatherings to share fellowship, mission and support the raising of ecumenical leadership. From 1997 to 2006, CCA assisted to host a NE Asia Peace program for youth. There have been youth internships enabled between Korea and Japan. For some years nothing has been taking place on a national level. There are many problems, for people and for the ecosystem, and youth need an opportunity to meet and share solutions.
Rev. Lee Hun Sam shared the work of Religious Peoples’ Committee for Peace in Asia. There have been 4 conferences held on Article 9 of the Japanese constitution. For many Asian countries, where there are conflict problems, this article could be very helpful.
For the remainder of Thursday afternoon and for Friday morning, the participants divided into work groups to discuss pertinent issues. The groups gathered in plenary on Friday afternoon at 2 to share their discussions.
The Peace subgroup talked about the achievements of the past times. Especially Tozanso in 1984 was a major point, which started the work for reunification by the NCCK. The group said it was imperative that the work continue and expand. They discussed the present situation of prejudice against Korean Japanese and also against migrant workers, and also talked about the recent situation in Korea of the government taking a monopoly for school history book publication. It has been the reality in Japan for some time now, so that Japanese text books cannot say the Japanese military participated in a ‘war of invasion’ against Asian countries. They talked about putting on another Article 9 conference, this time a more international and inter-faith.
The Justice subgroup reported that as they had not met face to face for 11 years, they spent most of their time in building community and sharing the real situation of the Korean and the Japanese societies. They found similar problems, around nuclear energy, migrant labour, etc., and agreed that there should be efforts made to continue connection and discussion.
The Women and Youth subgroup reported some of their discussion. There were complaints that although there have been fairly regular connections between NCCK and NCCJ women and youth, the results often have not reached local levels. The women taken in sexual slavery by the Japanese military finds a parallel with the suffering of women forced into sexual slavery by Korean military in Vietnam, and so the women pointed out the importance of humility even while a legitimate complaint is being made for apology and compensation from the government. They discussed the ongoing struggle against American hegemony in the Pacific, with the confession that the buildup of military bases in Okinawa took place as a direct result of the Korean War. Connections like that are always in effect, while similar base construction in Korea also causes communal disruption and suffering. The NCCK and NCCJ are both talking about starting study of LGBTQ issues, and so there was consideration of a joint conference on this. The NCCJ Youth has not been operating very much, but through cooperation with the Japanese YMCA, there seems to be some resurgence, and hopefully a renewed connection with EYCK of NCCK will also encourage the Japanese Christian youth.
At 3:30, a Press Conference was held, and then on Saturday morning, the final Consultation Statement was approved.
The English version of the Consultation Statement will be published in the next English newsletter.
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