Cardinal Kikuchi of Tokyo: ‘Church in Asia lives diverse realities, but one faith’

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

“Through these three days, we had the opportunity to deepen our understanding of our own reality in Asia and our understanding that we exist across really diverse realities but are united in one faith, one Body of Christ.”

Cardinal Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi, SVD, Archbishop of Tokyo and Secretary General of the FABC, expressed this as he reflected on the FABC Plenary Assembly which opened on Monday in Jakarta, Indonesia, and concludes Sunday, in an interview with Vatican News. More than 120 Cardinals and Bishops from across Asia have gathered to pray and reflect on the Church’s mission across the continent.

Cardinal Kikuchi presided over the Eucharistic Celebration on the Assembly’s opening day. The days have been full of mutual sharing, and, on Thursday, delegates participating in the Assembly presented the results of their table discussions.

As the plenary continues, Vatican News spoke with the Archbishop of Tokyo about the Assembly, but also about the Church in Japan, and Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica humanitas.

Q: Your Eminence, what do you see as the main fruits of the FABC Plenary Assembly so far? What have been the principal themes and priorities of your discussions?

Cardinal Kikuchi: The Church in Asia exists in the diverse realities of culture, language, politics and economy, but one thing is common among most of us: we are an absolute minority in society, except in the Philippines. So far, we have only had three days, from Tuesday to Thursday, of reflection and sharing our experiences. We had members share three-minute video presentations on the first day, a day of prayer and Conversation in the Spirit led by Cardinal Tagle on Wednesday, and on Thursday, a day of learning about the changing socio-political landscape of Asia and sharing the reality of our local Churches.

Through these three days, we had the opportunity to deepen our understanding of our own reality in Asia and to deepen our awareness that we live in really diverse realities but are united in one faith, one Body of Christ. We shared the challenges and opportunities for mission based on local realities and found some common elements, especially the importance of dialogue. We are searching for the best way to be bridges ourselves, but also bridge-builders among people and together with people through dialogue—with diverse cultures, with people, especially the poor, amid the diverse reality of numerous religions and in responding to the ecological crisis.

Q: Asia is an extraordinarily diverse continent. What have you learned from your brother Bishops during this assembly?

Drastic waves of migration in Asia call for immediate pastoral attention in many countries. Also, the protection of human dignity is a priority in many countries. Though each country has its own situation and problems, we can seek ways of cooperation among the Church communities in Asia. What the respective Church communities in Asia need is mutual understanding of each other’s realities and mutual cooperation. All my brother Bishops, despite their diverse realities, are asking for recognition of their circumstances and for support, especially spiritual support, from one another.

Q: Catholics in Japan make up a relatively small percentage of the population. As Archbishop of Tokyo, how do you believe these days’ deliberations will help your Church better witness or even spread the faith in this context?

According to official Church statistics, there are fewer than half a million Catholics in Japan. However, in reality, there are at least another half a million migrant Catholics in the country. The official registration system of the Church in Japan does not fully account for these migrant Catholics. For example, there are an estimated 40,000 Filipinos residing within the Archdiocese of Tokyo, and many young Vietnamese working in Japan on temporary visas are also Catholic.

Through our encounters with Bishops from other Asian countries, we have engaged in fruitful discussions on the reality of migrant Catholics and exchanged meaningful perspectives on their pastoral care. We all agree that the presence of migrant Catholics is a significant contribution to the local Church community, deepening its diversity and enabling the Church to stand as a witness to unity within diversity, particularly in a society that often tends toward exclusion and nationalism, such as Japan. By being a community of “unity in diversity,” the Church in Japan can proclaim the Gospel values through its very existence, by being a community of people from different nationalities walking and praying together. Synodality is key to this witness.

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Q: As Archbishop of Tokyo, how has Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica humanitas been received in Japan? Given Japan’s leadership in technological innovation, do you think the document has resonated with Japanese society? Which aspects of it do you believe could be especially valuable in the Japanese context?

The new encyclical Magnifica humanitas has been covered by several news outlets in Japan. In fact, ever since his election as Pope, Pope Leo’s words and actions have been actively covered by the Japanese media. At the same time, although there is considerable interest in the content of the new encyclical because it addresses the issue of AI, which is also a matter of national interest at this moment, the official Japanese translation is still underway, and we are eagerly awaiting its release. Only then will we be able to observe the response from the general public.