The President of Caritas Japan and Bishop of Niigata expressed hope that the Church’s humanitarian arm can work more closely with the Japanese government under the leadership of new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, reports Fides.

Bishop Isao Kikuchi, SVD, said: “We hope that the new premier shows stronger leadership in organizing the reconstruction and recovery of the country, after the tragedy that struck us … even relying more and recognizing the work of religious communities”.

“Caritas has worked hard and has opened a center for humanitarian aid in the diocese of Sendai, the hardest hit by the tsunami. We have sent many volunteers and, after this painful experience, the name of Caritas is highly respected and appreciated, people have a good opinion of us”.

On the management of aid, “we have worked closely with local civilian authorities, but we have not had direct contacts with the national government … therefore the challenge today could be to establish closer contacts with the national government”.

“The point is that the Japanese executive keeps its distance from religious organizations. This was established after the Second World War, to avoid past mistakes, when State leaders were very influenced by Shinto belief.

“But now times have changed. I believe that through humanitarian organizations such as Caritas and NGOs of religious inspiration, one can start a stable and fruitful collaboration between government and religious communities, for the good of the population and the entire country,” the bishop said.

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ASIA/JAPAN – The Church asks the new Prime Minister Noda “more collaboration between state and religions” (Fides)

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