BANGKOK (UCAN) -- The beatification of 188 Japanese martyrs on Nov. 24 commemorated a tragic page in the country's history with a public event in Nagasaki, Catholic Church sources in Japan said.

According to Japanese Church sources, about 30,000 people attended the ceremony for the martyrs, seen as representing of up to 50,000 Japanese Catholics who died in a persecution lasting almost 300 years.

In contrast to previous petitions for beatification presented by Religious congregations, the petition for these 188 martyrs -- all Japanese, mostly laypeople and ranging in age from 1 to 80 -- was the first the Japanese bishops promoted. The late Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao had highlighted this aspect to UCA News.

News agencies claimed the beatification ceremony, which was held in a baseball stadium in pouring rain, was the largest ever in Asia.

According to historical accounts, the persecution in which the martyrs died began in 1597, after shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered missioners expelled and Christianity outlawed 10 years earlier.

It almost wiped out Christianity in Japan for centuries.

First, 26 Christians were crucified. They were beatified in 1627 and canonized, made saints, in 1862.

The persecution peaked between 1603 and 1639, when most of the victims were killed, but continued until 1873, when Western nations pressured the Japanese government to recognize freedom of religion.

Jesuit Saint Francis Xavier brought Christianity in Japan in 1549. Feudal lords did not want foreign influence to undermine their power and banned the religion and contacts with Westerners, and persecution followed.

Those Christians who were not killed for their faith practiced in secret, passing down the faith on their own through centuries. Over time, some blended Catholic rites with local beliefs.

Today, less than 1 percent of almost 130 million Japanese are Christians, and only about 450,000 are Catholics. Buddhism and Shintoism are the main religions in the country.

Premier Taro Aso is reportedly the first Catholic to become prime minister. However, he rarely refers to his religion in public and did not attend the ceremony, agencies noted.

Monday's beatification was a result of efforts by Japanese Catholics to recognize more of their own martyrs, rather than foreign missioners. However, researchers had to travel overseas to study letters sent home by missioners, because records in Japan had been destroyed.

It "is a direct consequence of John Paul II's visit to Japan in 1981," noted Cardinal Hamao. The Japanese prelate, who died in November 2007, played a central role in discussing the cause for the Japanese martyrs at the Vatican-based Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

He told UCA News in April 2007 that the beatification is important for all Japanese regardless of faith, because it highlights the freedom of religion as a fundamental human right.

He said it was significant that the majority of the martyrs were laypeople, mostly women and children. Among the four priests killed was Jesuit Peter Kibe, who chose to return to Japan after his ordination in Rome, in spite of news of persecution. He worked for some years in the areas of Nagasaki and Edo (today's Tokyo) before his arrest and death.

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