The third Executive Council meeting of the current two-year General Assembly period took place Oct. 21-22 at the Kyodan headquarters, with all 30 members in attendance. General Secretary Nagasaki Tetsuo noted the damage done by Typhoon 26 (named “Typhoon Wipha” by Western media although Japan uses only numbers). The 49 victims included one Kyodan church member. There was also a report on the numerous visits from representatives of overseas churches this past spring.

Regarding the continuing discussion about the degree of earthquake resistance of the Japan Christian Center Building, a meeting of owner representatives was held at the request of the building maintenance union, which in turn was based on the decision of the Kyodan Executive Council, but the owners were unable to decide what to do. Kitakoji Masashi, the design architect of the Vories Architectural Firm, stated that the earthquake resistance figures for the fourth through sixth floors, as well as the eighth floor, were below the standard level, so there is danger that the building could collapse in a strong earthquake. The Executive Council established a new committee called the "Task Force on the Japan Christian Center Building Issue." The 16-member committee includes the Kyodan moderator, vice moderator, and secretary along with the members of the Executive Committee and the chairperson of the Commission on Finance.

The Committee on the Research Institute on the Mission of the Church reported on the second version of the Revised Basic Principles of Mission.

Kyodan Moderator Ishibashi Hideo stated that the important issues left over from the 2010 General Assembly have continued to be discussed by the Executive Council and have been drafted as specific proposals that will be on the agenda of the 2014 General Assembly. Most of the related discussion deals with “world mission” and focuses on what the Kyodan’s vision should be as well as on how to relate to and cooperate with various overseas churches.

The 2012 General Assembly had referred discussion on the resolution concerning nuclear power plants to the Executive Council. The continuing discussion resulted in two proposals on that issue, which were to petition the Japanese government both to abandon plans for the construction of the Kaminoseki Nuclear Plant and also to phase out promptly the presently operating nuclear plants. As there were many opinions on the contents of the specific proposals, the motion was tabled, and three members were chosen to draft modified proposals for the next meeting.

There was also a report on the activities of the Kyodan Great East Japan Disaster Planning Headquarters and the budget for that work, as well as a report on the International Conference on the Great East Japan Disaster that is scheduled to be held March 11-14 in Sendai. This will be the first such international conference sponsored by the Kyodan, and preparations are being made for approximately 200 participants from both within and outside Japan.

常議員会報告

第38総会期第3回常議員会は、10月21、22日両 日、教団会議室で30人全員が出席して開催された。

長崎哲夫総幹事による総幹事報告では、最初に犠牲者一名を出した台風26号の被害に触れた。

耐震についての協議が続いている日本キリスト教会館については、教団常議員会の議決に基づき、会館管理組合に検討を申し入れ、会館オーナー会議が開かれたが、方向は定まらなかった。今春以 降、活発な海外諸教会との交流が続いていると報告した。キリスト教会館については、その後、ヴォーリス設計事務所の構造設計担当者、北小 路正(Kitakoji Tadashi)氏により、4～6階及び8階の構 造耐震指標値が基準値以下であり、倒壊または崩壊する危険性があるとの事である。委員は三役と常任常議員及び予 算決算委員会委員長と加えた16名である。審議の後、可決された宣教研究所委員会より主に、「改訂宣教基礎理論第二次草案」 について報告がなされた。

石橋秀雄議長は第37総会から大事な事として扱ってきたもので、常議員会で検討の上、議案化し、第39教団総会に提案したいと述べた。意見交換では主に「世界宣教」について話し合われ、教団としてのビジョンを明確に打ち 出すべき、海外諸教派との協力関係についても意見の交換があった。第38教団総会から常議員会に付託され、継続審議になっていた原発関連2議案が上程された。「上関原発建設計画の白紙撤回と既存原発の即時廃止を日本政府に求める件」は声明の採択が目的であったが、声明の内容についての意見が多く出て、議長は今回は継続審議をし、修正案を提出するため、3名の委員を選出する事を承認した。東日本大震災関連では、救援対策本部の活動、会計報告がなされ、併せて、2014年3月11日から14日まで開催される、東日本大震災国際会議について報告された。教団にとって初の国際会議となるが、国内外を合わせて200名の参加を目標にし、記念礼拝と記念講演は公開にし て、1000名の出席を予定している事が報告された。（加藤誠）