Rome, Italy, Jul 27, 2007 / 10:01 am (CNA).- According to a report by the Bishops’ Conference of Japan, the number of baptized in 2006 increased considerably in that country, where there are some 452,000 Catholics. 

The Fides news agency reported that the number of baptisms in 2006 reached 7,193 of which 1,692 were adults and 3,501 were children, while there were more than 5,400 catechumens. 

Fides noted that a census of the country’s parishes reveals that “nearly 60% of Japanese Catholics are women.”  The census did not take into account the presence of foreign Catholics in Japan, who number about 565,000.

The report also showed that the Archdiocese of Tokyo has the largest Catholic population, numbering 95,362. Another interesting statistic is that of the number of weddings celebrated during the last year. Some 3,130 marriages were celebrated, of which 1,450 were mixed in which one of the spouses is not Catholic.  In many cases, the non-Catholic spouse had already began the process of conversion.

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