Overview of the role of the Catholic Church in Japan
Catholic Church in Japan
Japanese: 日本のカトリック教会
The Tabira Catholic Church, Hirado, Nagasaki
Type
National polity
Classification
Catholic
Orientation
Asian Christianity, Latin
Scripture
Bible
Theology
Catholic theology
Governance
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan
Pope
Pope Francis
CBCJ President
Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, Archbishop of Tokyo
Apostolic Nuncio
Leo Boccardi
Region
Japan
Language
Ecclesiastical Latin
Japanese
Headquarters
Tokyo, Japan
Separations
Protestantism in Japan
Members
431,100 (2021)
Places of worship
957
Tertiary institutions
Sophia University, Nanzan University, Elisabeth University of Music
Official website
cbcj.catholic.jp
Part of a series on the
Catholic Church by country
Africa
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Ivory Coast
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
São Tomé and Príncipe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
Somaliland
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Asia
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
China
East Timor
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Japan
Kazakhstan
Korea
North Korea
South Korea
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Macau
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
Pakistan
Philippines
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Middle East
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Cyprus
Georgia
Abkhazia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Palestine
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
Yemen
Europe
Albania
Andorra
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czechia
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Kosovo
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom
England
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Wales
North America
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
United States
Oceania
Australia
Fiji
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
Nauru
New Zealand
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
South America
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Guyana
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Catholicism portal
v
t
e
The Catholic Church in Japan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. As of 2021, there were approximately 431,100 Catholics in Japan (0.34% of the total population), 6,200 of whom are clerics, religious and seminarians.[1] Japan has 15 dioceses, including three metropolitan archdioceses, with 34 bishops, 1,235 priests, and 40 deacons[2] spread out across 957 churches (parishes, quasi-parishes, mission stations, and assembly centres).[3]
The bishops of the dioceses form the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan, the episcopal conference of the nation. The main liturgical rites employed in Japan are those of the Latin Church.
The current apostolic nuncio, who serves as the Holy See's diplomatic ambassador and delegate to the local church in Japan, is Archbishop Leo Boccardi.[4]
Christianity was introduced to Japan by the Jesuits, such as the Spaniard St. Francis Xavier and the Italian Alessandro Valignano. Portuguese Catholics founded the port of Nagasaki, considered at its founding to be an important Christian center in the Far East, though this distinction is now obsolete. There is a modern Japanese translation of the whole Bible by Federico Barbaro, an Italian missionary. Nowadays, many Japanese Catholics are ethnic Japanese from Brazil and Peru and naturalized Filipino Japanese.
The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross, a personal ordinariate within the Catholic Church originally created as a means for Anglicans to enter communion with Rome while maintaining their patrimony, has also begun to form in Japan. As of 2015, it has two congregations.[5]
^Statistics of the Catholic Church in Japan. "Catholics in Japan", p. 1. Tokyo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan. Retrieved fromhttps://www.cbcj.catholic.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/statistics2021.pdf.
^Statistics of the Catholic Church in Japan. "Clergy", p. 5. Tokyo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan. Retrieved from https://www.cbcj.catholic.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/statistics2021.pdf.
^"Facilities" (PDF). Statistics of the Catholic Church in Japan. Tokyo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan. August 2022. p. 2.
^"Japan (Nunciature) [Catholic-Hierarchy]".
^"Ordinariate Community of St. Augustine of Canterbury". Retrieved 12 February 2015.
and 27 Related for: Catholic Church in Japan information
The CatholicChurchinJapan is part of the worldwide CatholicChurch, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. As of 2021, there were approximately...
re-established inJapan. Portuguese shipping arrived inJapanin 1543, and Catholic missionary activities inJapan began in earnest around 1549, performed in the...
episcopate of the CatholicChurchinJapan consists solely of a Latin hierarchy, joined in the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan. It comprises fifteen...
against the Japanese and this was punished as such. More than 400 martyrs of Japan have been recognized with beatification by the CatholicChurch, and 42...
Sei Ko Kai (Japanese: 日本聖公会, romanized: Nippon Seikōkai, lit. 'Japanese Holy CatholicChurch'), abbreviated as NSKK, sometimes referred to in English as...
The CatholicChurch, also known as the Roman CatholicChurch, is the largest Christian church, with 1.378 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2021...
tradition of the CatholicChurch claims it began with Jesus Christ and his teachings; the Catholic tradition considers that the Church is a continuation...
Kakure kirishitan (Japanese: 隠れキリシタン, lit. 'hidden Christians') is a modern term for a member of the CatholicChurchinJapan who went underground at the...
The CatholicChurchin South Korea (called Cheonjugyo, Korean: 천주교; Hanja: 天主教; lit. Religion of the Lord of Heaven) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church...
The CatholicChurchin India is part of the worldwide CatholicChurch under the leadership of the Pope. There are over 20 million Catholicsin India, representing...
Christians in Japanese and is used inJapanese texts as a historiographic term for CatholicsinJapanin the 16th and 17th centuries. Modern Japanese has several...
its long history, the CatholicChurch has been subject to criticism regarding various beliefs and practices. Within the church, this often involves opposition...
Museum in Nagasaki City, JapanCatholic Bishops Conference of Japan: Timeline of the CatholicChurchinJapan Daughters of St. Paul Convent, Tokyo, Japan: Prohibition...
February 1615) was a JapaneseCatholic Kirishitan daimyō and samurai who lived during the Sengoku period that witnessed anti-Catholic sentiment. Takayama...
2018[update], the CatholicChurch is the country's second-largest religious grouping after Protestantism, and the country's largest single church or Christian...
The Oura Church (大浦天主堂, Ōura Tenshudō) or Oura Cathedral, officially Basilica of the Twenty-Six Holy Martyrs of Japan (日本二十六聖殉教者聖堂) is a Catholic minor basilica...
canonization in the CatholicChurch or glorification in the Eastern Orthodox Church after their approval. While the English word saint originated in Christianity...
Takatori CatholicChurch (Katorikku Takatori Kyōkai (カトリックたかとり教会)) is a Catholicchurchin Nagata-ku, Kobe, Japan. It is a fifteen-minute walk from Takatori...
Orthodox ChurchinJapan or Orthodox Church of Japan (Japanese: 日本ハリストス正教会, romanized: Nihon Harisutosu Seikyōkai, OCJ), also known as the Japanese Orthodox...
Distribution of Catholics The CatholicChurch is "the Catholic Communion of Churches, both Roman and Eastern, or Oriental, that are in full communion with...
Global Information
Catholicism portal