August 2, 2015 Joint Peace Message of the KCCJ and the Kyodan

"This is what the Lord says: 'Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.'" (Jeremiah 22:3)

This year, 2015, marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the World War II. Last year, we, the Korean Christian Church in Japan (KCCJ) and the United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ or Kyodan) celebrated the 30th year of our covenant in mission, so we have covenanted with each other to deepen our relationship further and to work together for peace in Japan and around the world. We will endeavor to protect people's lives and pray for the realization of a society in which everyone can live in security. As Christians living in Japan, it is our heart's desire to see Japan be a country in which all people living here can find true peace and security.

Likewise, the Kyodan wishes to express again its sincere apology for the errors of the past, when we failed to confess clearly Jesus Christ as Lord of the entire world and cooperated with our country in its prosecution of a war of aggression and its colonization of Korea, China, and other Asian countries. We repent of our sin of not standing up for our brothers and sisters in Christ who were persecuted during the war, and we pray for and aim at creating a society of peace, equality, and coexistence.

Working Towards a Peaceful Society

The Japanese government is now attempting to make it possible for the Self-Defense Force (the Japanese military) to be sent overseas to participate in military activities. The Cabinet has made the decision to acknowledge the "right of collective defense," and is attempting to push a national security bill through the Diet that would, in effect, negate Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, which states, "The Japanese people forever renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes."

As we commemorate this 70th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in that war, our thoughts also concern the more than 200,000 military and civilian deaths experienced in the Battle of Okinawa. Okinawa, which had been the sovereign country of the Kingdom of Ryukyu, was invaded and occupied by Japan, and then as the war drew to a close, Japan used Okinawa as a shield for the mainland. Since the end of the war and up to the present time, Okinawa has been forced to bear the heavy burden of hosting the vast majority of U.S. military bases in Japan. In addition, the efforts to phase out Futenma Air Base (which is located in the middle of a densely populated area) and replace it with a new military base at Henoko is steadily moving forward. We see in this as a pervasive discrimination that underlies so much of our country.

It is with these things in mind that we pray for the kind of peace that God the Father has revealed through his Son Jesus Christ as being his will. We not only oppose the passage of these bills related to national security but we also seek the repeal of the plans to establish a new military base at Henoko to replace Futenma Air Base.

Working Towards a Society with No Hate Speech

Within the context of a social movement that emphasizes a phrase that translates as "distaining China, hating Korea," the situation continues to grow worse, with this understanding becoming more widespread among average Japanese people. "Hate demonstrations" still occur around Japan, with the objects of such hate speech not being limited to Koreans and Chinese but also extending to Okinawans, Ainu, victims of the nuclear accident (in 2011), Muslims, and various other discriminated-against groups, such as the Burakumin, those with handicapping conditions, and welfare recipients.

Certain sectors of the media have also broadcast programs that only serve to fan the flames of this "distaining China, hating Korea" mindset, and both published materials and the Internet are overflowing with various expressions of ethnic and racially discriminatory remarks. In 1996, Japan ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination produced by the United Nations, but even now we see not the slightest sign that Japan is going to institute a law banning racial discrimination or even set up a human rights agency. In addition, we are beginning to see this movement being tied to conservative political powers that are, for instance, denying even the existence of the “comfort women” issue (forced prostitution by the Japanese military during WW II) through suppression of speech.

It is with this situation in mind that this coming November we will be hosting our third international conference on the issue of minorities and mission under the theme, “Living Together and Working Towards a Japanese Society that Brings People Together: Being in Solidarity With People Around the World Who Long For a Just and Symbiotic Society in Japan.” Our desire is to clarify the reality of ethnic discrimination in Japan and to work with and pray with Christians from around the world to achieve its elimination.

Working Towards a Society in which People’s Lives and Livelihoods are Protected

The actions of the Japanese government following the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi reactors in March 2011 certainly were not ones in which the safety of its citizens were given the highest priority. The computer simulations of the nuclear radiation fallout were suppressed, and within days following the disaster, the standard radiation threshold values and food safety values were raised to much higher levels. Thus, even for areas where radiation levels were clearly quite high, residents were not given significant compensation or help in moving to safer areas.

Likewise, even though there are numerous reports of radiation contamination and health issues relating to the stress of all of this, the media is discouraged from reporting about them, and the nuclear accident is treated as being a “past event.” Moreover, the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Kagoshima, Kyushu is being restarted again, and preparations for the restarting of other nuclear power plants is being pushed forward.

Japan is the only nation on earth to have experienced nuclear attack, and now together with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we must also never forget Fukushima. We must continue to bear the burden of pain together and to work for a society in which the lives and livelihoods of all people in Japan are protected.

Just as Jeremiah prophesied, God seeks of us to do what is just and right. We are required to do no wrong or violence to the foreigner and not to shed the blood of the innocent. We need to take these words seriously and to work towards the peace of God in our society. (Tr. TB)

2015年 在日大韓基督教会・日本基督教団 平和メッセージ

「主はこう言われる。正義と恵みの業を行い、搾取されている者を虐げる者の手から救え。

寄留の外国人、孤児、寡婦を苦しめ、虐げてはならない。またこの地で、無実の人の血

を流してはならない。」（エレミヤ書 22章3節）

本年2015年はアジア・太平洋戦争の敗戦から70年となります。昨年、私たち在日大韓基督教会と日本基督教団は宣教協約 30周年を迎え、今後さらに、日本をはじめ世界における平和の実現と、人々の命が守られ、安心して暮らすことのできる社会の実現を祈 り、お互いの協力関係を深めていくことを確認しました。

私たち在日大韓基督教会と日本基督教団は、日本に住むキリスト者として、日本が、そこで生活するすべての人々にとって真に 平和で安全な国であることを心から願います。

そして、過去の歴史における韓国や中国などへの侵略と植民地化政策の過ちを謝罪すると共に、日本基督教団が、イエス・キリ ストこそが世界の主であられるとの信仰を明白に告白することができず、戦争遂行に協力し、戦時下において弾圧を受けていたキリスト者 たちの信仰の闘いを共に担うことができなかった罪の悔い改めの祈りをもって、平和と平等と共生の社会の実現を目指します。

＜平和な社会の実現を目指して＞

今、日本国政府は、自衛隊を海外の戦争に派遣して軍事行動をとらせることを可能にする集団的自衛権行使容認を閣議決定し、 国会における安全保障関連法案の決議へと突き進んでしまいました。それは、「国権の発動たる戦争と、武力による威嚇又は武力の行使 は、国際紛争を解決する手段としては、永久にこれを放棄する」と謳った日本国憲法第9条をないがしろにするものです。

敗戦から70年の今年、私たちは、軍民併せて20万人以上の犠牲者を出した沖縄戦のことを思い起こします。日本は、独立国 家であった琉球王国を侵略・統治し、アジア・太平洋戦争末期には沖縄を本土の盾として利用しました。その沖縄は、敗戦後から今日に至 るまで在日米軍基地の圧倒的集中という重い負担を強いられ、今は米軍普天間飛行場の辺野古への移設計画が「粛々と」進められていま す。ここに、この国にひそむ「差別性」がはっきりと表れています。

以上のことから、私たちは、聖書において啓示されている主イエス・キリストの父なる神 のみこころである平和の実現を心から祈り、安全保障関連法案の制定に反対すると共に、米軍普天間飛行場の辺野古への移設計画の撤廃を 求めます。

＜ヘイトスピーチのない社会を目指して＞

「嫌中憎韓」の流れの中にあるヘイトスピーチ をめぐる状況はこれまでと変わることはなく、むしろ、一般の人々の意識の中に定着しているという意味で、より深刻になっています。ヘ イトデモの集会は今でも日本各地で行われていますし、ヘイトスピーチの対象は韓国や中国のみならず、沖縄、アイヌ、原発事故被災者、 イスラム教徒、さらに、被差別部落、障がい者、生活保護受給者などにも及んでいます。

また、一部の報道機関は、「嫌中憎韓」を煽る記事や番組を報道し続けていますし、多くの出版物やインターネット上には見る に堪えない人種差別的表現があふれています。日本は、1996年に国連における人種差別撤廃条約に加入しましたが、人種差別を禁じる 法の制定や国内における人権機関の設立は兆しすら見えません。さらに、それらの動きは保守政治勢力と結びついて、日本軍「慰安婦」の 存在自体を否定する「言論の弾圧」という新たな様相を見せ始めています。

このような中で私たちは今年11月、「共に生き、共に生かしあう日本社会に向けて－日本と世界の連帯でめざす日本社会の正 義と共生」の主題のもと、第3回「マイノリティ問題と宣教」国際会議を開催し、日本における人種差別の実態を明らかにし、その撤廃に 向けて、日本と世界のキリスト者が祈りと力を合わせていくことを願っています。

＜人々の命と暮らしが守られる社会を目指して＞

2011年3月の福島第一原子力発電所爆発事故後の政府の対応は、「国民の安全を守る」ことを第一とするものではありませ んでした。放射性物質拡散被害シミュレーションの結果は隠蔽され、事故から数日後には被曝基準値や食品放射能基準値が大幅に引き上げ られました。実際は、放射線量がかなり高いと言わざるを得ない地域の住民に対しても、移住や避難といった抜本的な手当が無いままに放 置されてきました。

そして、放射能汚染とそのストレスによる多くの健康被害が報告されているにもかかわらず、それらに関する報道は極めて少な くされており、「原発事故は過去の話」とばかりに、今や鹿児島の川内原子力発電所をはじめ、各地の原発の再稼働に向けた動きが進めら れております。

私たちは、世界で唯一の被曝国である日本が、「ヒロシマ」「ナガサキ」と共に「フクシマ」で起こったことを決して忘れず、 その苦しみを共に担いながら、日本に住むすべての人の命と暮らしが守られる社会であり続けることを願います。

そして、エレミヤの預言にあるように、神が私たちに対して正義と恵みの業を行うことを求めておられること、寄留の外国人を 虐げることなく、無実の人の血を流すことのないように命じておられることを真剣に受けとめ、主なる神の平和の実現を目指します。