Cham Bumo Gyeong: Episode 169

Cham Bumo Gyeong
Book 6: The World Tours and the Global Mission
Chapter 3: Special Tour of Japan and Sending Out Missionaries
Section 2: Ministry of Japan, Tour by True Parents’ family
Section 2: Ministry of Japan, Paragraph 12

Section 2. Ministry in Japan

Tour by True Parents' family

True Parents visited Japan during their first world tour in 1965, their second world tour in 1969, and their third world tour in 1972, as well as on numerous other occasions, giving encouragement to the members. During a special visit from June 12 to August 10, 1967, they were accompanied by members of the True Family as well as church leaders. During that visit they bequeathed traditions of several types to Japan. First they bequeathed True Parents' teaching, in particular the Divine Principle; second they bequeathed faith; third they bequeathed the grace of the Blessing; and fourth they bequeathed Japan's mission as the Eve nation. They held a two-week retreat for key leaders from June 17 and toured Japan's provinces from July 8 to 21.

1  When I met you my heart was filled with indescribable longing. My heart is always connected to you and I regret we have not been able to communicate because of the language barrier. I believe that this language barrier someday may become a problem for the Unification Church of Japan. But for now I would like to discover our similarities during this time of connecting in heart, and have us draw closer to each other. Because there is so much I want to say, I cannot fully describe the emotions that well up and reverberate in my heart.

2  When I arrived in Japan on June 12, 1967, I felt that I needed to unite the Japanese members' hearts with the homeland of their faith. Because we have been focusing on the work of missionaries in foreign countries, we have been unable to move forward steadily in one direction. I have been concerned that if I do nothing about this, it will negatively affect our members over the course of time. So I brought with me top leaders from headquarters and sent them to the various regions of Japan to form bonds of heart with the Japanese members. I held workshops for two weeks upon arriving, and then toured the country for 13 days.

After that, I visited most of Japan's major factories. I did this because, although it is crucial for me to lead our faith movement by addressing religious issues, I also have to focus on and develop a plan to help Korea achieve its national development goals. I visited more than ten factories to examine the current state of Japans industries. While visiting these factories, I felt deeply that from this point on Korea must unite with Japan on a national scale.

3  When I visited Japan in 1967 I contemplated blessing the members. But the Japanese members were not even thinking about receiving the Blessing. They were thinking of getting blessed two or three years later. This comforted me immensely. If they do not live a true life for the sake of Japan, fully engaged in genuine activities, and instead live for themselves, they will not be able to stand before God. This is true. From this fact alone you can see that you urgently need to change your position right now. You must clearly understand the magnitude of God's expectation and hope for you.

4  Japan has suppressed the Unification Church to this day, and so it caused a huge sensation when I went to Japan in 1967. Many Japanese reporters requested interviews. Since they saw me accept invitations from government officials and national leaders, the reporters thought I would also accept their invitations. But they do not know me. I did not meet them. I turned them away at the door. So they got upset and grumbled about the Unification Church. We eventually became a focal point of the Japanese media in 1967. The Unification Church became the front page story.

5  The elder brother is a representative of the father and the elder sister is a representative of the mother. The question is, how strongly do you feel this way? It is very easy for siblings to criticize one another based on their own points of view. How can we overcome these limitations? This was one of the questions on my mind when departing for Japan. How can I help you feel that your church leader is truly a second-self of True Parents?

Do not look at church leaders from your own viewpoint, but from God's position. Based on how a church leader grew up, his academic level and other qualifications, he may not necessarily be superior to you. In some respects there are times when a church leader needs to learn from you. At such times it is easy for an ordinary person to criticize the church leader from stem to stern. I am concerned that such a culture might develop. What is important is how many members in the church in Japan have the heart of a parent. I am hoping that the number of such members increases.

6  The Communist Party is a problem. I rigorously trained the people of Korea because of my belief that Koreans have to be the first to rally their spirits and stand up against communism. On the basis of Korea establishing a standard of victory over communism, Japan has to start dealing with the same issues. In many respects Japan is in a strategic location.

From a providential viewpoint, Korea and Japan are in the positions of the Adam nation and the Eve nation respectively. Eve was the first to fall. She was the first to go over to Satan's side. Currently Japan stands in a similar position. Therefore Japan must not base its actions on self-interest. Eve ought to have consulted with Adam instead of thinking only about herself and then taking action.

Many young people in Japan do not know anything about communism, so they maintain a friendly attitude toward the Communist Party and leftists in general. Considering that reality, we have an important responsibility. We must confront the Communist Party head-on with our logical thought. We have to show them that democracy is superior to communism. Japan is safe because America protected it until now, but in the future it may find itself defenseless. If that happens, it can be attacked. With Red China and the Soviet Union within striking distance, Japan must take rapid measures based on a substantial plan.

7  If you go to downtown Tokyo you will see red-lettered billboards on bold display advertising the Japanese Communist Party. They confidently disseminate their propaganda in broad daylight in front of Tokyo Station and Shibuya Station. At the Japanese National Diet, members of the Communist Party are joining forces with the Social Democratic Party to oppose the Liberal Democratic Party. They are operating in concert and opposing every bill proposed by the Liberal Democratic Party. Their purpose is to incite the communists, laborers and farmers and use them as tools to build their underground foundation. The communists are desperately focusing on these things.

8  What do you think happened when I toured Japan? Students in the Collegiate Association for the Research of Principles dropped out of school to engage in pioneer missionary work in order to save Japan. Their activism became the hottest story in every daily newspaper. Some of their parents sent anonymous letters to the newspapers opposing these articles, while others sent anonymous letters supporting them.

One newspaper printed only those stories that were against the Unification Church. So we spoke out that it was a leftist newspaper conspiring against the Unification Church because of our Victory Over Communism stance, which is ideologically hostile to that newspaper's position. Then another newspaper publicized how the articles against the Unification Church were not factual. In this way there were some news agencies that opposed us and others that supported us.

The newspapers that supported us featured stories based on anonymous letters by the parents who support us. These letters stated, "All young men and women should be sent to the Unification Church. All newspaper articles opposed to the Unification Church are false. Our children who went to the church improved in many ways." That is why my name appeared all the time in those newspapers.

Visits in 1973

True Parents visited Japan from July 8 to 22, 1973. On July 11, True Father spoke to members from the area north of Shizuoka at Sayama Park in Tokyo. On July 12, he presided over a meeting of members from the area west of Nagoya at the Takarazuka Training Center in Hyogo Prefecture. True Parents made a second trip to Japan from August 7 to 10 of the same year. They visited Japan a third time that year from November 17 to 24, where they spoke and presided over a number of events and gatherings including the Second International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences.

9  In two years, Japan has to decide its destiny. We are at a significant time; we have to choose from a number of paths. Retreat is not an option. Be prepared to die even as you move forward. We are in a state of emergency wherein we need to change tactics and direction. You have to harden your resolve once more. Unless you charge forward, Japan will be in danger. The state of affairs in Japan is unfolding exactly as I predicted. The same is true of the conditions in Asia. If we allow more time to elapse it will be too late. Every hour counts. We are facing a tragic fate. Failure to invest even one hours effort could lead to the loss of 1,000 years. Every hour, every second counts. We are facing a crisis. Everything depends on you.

10  Japan yearns to connect to the Asian continent. But this can be done only through Korea. The Korean Peninsula is both the base and the ladder to connect to the mainland. North Korea is situated in the northern part of this peninsula, and the Soviet Union and Red China are hovering nearby. The minute Japan is lost, all of Asia will be lost.

Japan has the mission of the Eve nation. It has no future unless it can provide economic aid and emotional support to the people of Asia even if it means Japan has to sacrifice its own comfort. This is an obvious conclusion.

If the Japanese people can accept Unification Thought, they can become a global people. If that happens the nation of Japan will come to lead the world. When a bride does well at the bridegroom's house, she becomes the center and focus of opinion for the people of that household. Japan needs to be loyal to True Parents and heaven in the manner of a bride. That is the only way. If Japan fulfills her mission, she will not perish.

11  If I were God, I would inspire the young Japanese people gathered here to give their lives because if someone were to offer their life for the sake of Japan, Japan would be truly blessed as a result. God blesses people who, like Jesus, sacrifice themselves, even dying for the sake of humankind. I hope that each of you takes the lead for the sake of the Japanese people, and becomes serious about standing in a public position with a strong sense of patriotism and loyalty. I hope you become more serious than anyone else in history. How great that would be! No matter what, we have only one life to live. If there is someone who can live in this way and is ready to die out of a heart of love that exceeds that of others, God will be compelled to bless Japan forever through that one person. God's kingdom will live because of you.

12  Can Japan become a new pioneer and represent the East in relation to the realm of western civilization that includes America, France and Italy? Japan is called an "economic animal." This is a derogatory phrase. Nations are called by many names. By what name will Japan eventually be called? Japan is living for the sake of Japan. Which is more honorable for a Japanese person: to live for the sake of Japan or to live for the sake of the world?

If the Japanese wish to live for the sake of the world, they need to pay indemnity for their past and create a new tradition. They have to rectify the mistakes of their ancestors. Each of you needs to restore, through paying indemnity, the sins committed by your ancestors in history. You must also restore through paying indemnity the sins committed by Japan in the present era. When you do so, your age will arrive. A person who is unable to indemnify the past cannot make his or her ideal a reality. It is important for Japan to gain results through an altruistic path in which the people shed blood, sweat and tears on the basis of a genuine standard. Japan needs to invest herself completely.