Church in Japan

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A view of the Urakami cathedral in Nagasaki on Nov. 23, 2019. Inset: The ruined church after the bombing of Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945.

U.S. Catholics fund replacement for cathedral bell destroyed in atomic bombing of Nagasaki

Aug 24, 2024

By Daniel Payne

Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, U.S. Catholics helped fund the replacement of... Read more

A Japanese nun holds her arms out as she prays at a chapel in her convent in Nagasaki, Japan.

Sister Agnes Sasagawa, Our Lady of Akita visionary, dies at 93

Aug 17, 2024

By Jonah McKeown

Sister Agnes Sasagawa, a Japanese nun who purported visions of the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of... Read more

Oura Church in Nagasaki, Japan.

Catholicism and martyrdom in Japan: Church marks 400 years since Edo massacre

Dec 17, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

The small but devout Catholic community in Japan is built upon the witness of untold numbers of martyrs. Read more

The Seto Inland Sea is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan.

Pope Francis merges two dioceses in Japan

Aug 16, 2023

By Hannah Brockhaus

Cardinal Thomas Aquino Manyo Maeda was named on Aug. 15 as the first archbishop of the new Archdiocese of Osaka-Takamatsu. Read more

A Catholic Church in Nagasaki, destroyed by the Aug. 9, 1945, atomic bombing of the city. Public domain

Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki killed two-thirds of the city’s Catholics 78 years ago

Aug 9, 2023

By Eduardo Berdejo

Since the 16th century, Nagasaki has been an important center of Catholicism in Japan, initially evangelized by Jesuit and Franciscan... Read more

Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo was elected president of Caritas Internationalis during the Vatican-based confederation of national charities' General Assembly on May 11-16, 2023.

Tokyo archbishop elected new president of Caritas Internationalis

May 15, 2023

By CNA Staff

Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi takes the helm of the Church’s charitable arm six months after Pope Francis dismissed its top... Read more

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Japanese prime minister vows to take action on declining birthrate

Jan 25, 2023

By Jonah McKeown

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently warned that Japan’s birthrate — one of the lowest in the world — is... Read more

The Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, Japan. Credit: Oilstreet via Wikimedia (CC BY 2.5).

Catholic bishops of Hiroshima and Nagasaki hail nuclear weapons ban treaty

Jan 22, 2021

By Courtney Mares

The Catholic bishops of Hiroshima and Nagasaki welcomed the United Nations treaty banning nuclear weapons that came into force Friday,... Read more

A Catholic parish in Hakodate, Japan.

Catholics in Japan fear for refugees, foreigners during coronavirus

May 18, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic is causing drops in charitable donations to Catholic organizations in Japan, especially affecting refugees and vulnerable foreigners,... Read more