Bishop of Tokyo Is Steady Navigator Amid a Sea of Disquiet
Episcopal News Service. March 21, 1991 [91083]
Betty Gray
In a society where Christians are fewer than one percent of the total population and where Anglicans are a fraction of this number, the bishop of Tokyo, the Rt. Rev. John Makoto Takeda, has assumed a mantle of leadership that seeks to navigate the Anglican Church in Japan (Nippon Seikokai) through a sea of cultural, theological, and political disquiet.
"My name is John Makoto, but I prefer 'Makoto.' That means 'truth,"' Takeda said, with a self-effacing laugh. "My friends call me 'Mako' -- I suppose they think I have a half-truth."
A keen sense of humor, including the ability to laugh at himself, is one aspect of Takeda's personality that keeps him centered and grounded as a leader of a church that is confronting internal controversies and external societal changes.
In Japan, several issues have provoked controversy, requiring a response by leaders like Takeda, including the debate over the Japan's imperial legacy and the inclusion of Shinto rites during the recent enthronement of Emperor Heisei, the role of Japan's Self-Defense force, the question of discrimination against non-Japanese ethnic groups, and the role of Japanese women in church and society.
Takeda relies on his career as a professor for a firm, but gentle command of his job as bishop. The son of an Anglican priest and the product of the Japanese school system, 60-year-old Takeda attended Union Theological Seminary in New York before becoming a professor at Central Theological Seminary (Seikokai Sengaku), the Anglican seminary in Tokyo. He enjoys visiting parishes because "before becoming a bishop, I didn't have a chance to experience parishes. I was always teaching," he said.
Despite some resistance, volunteer groups are attracting young people because they are willing to grapple with social and political issues. Several volunteer groups, for example, are addressing the plight of women brought into Japan by an illegal organization of Japanese gangsters. "They bring some people into the country to work," Takeda said. "They use fake marriages to get girls into Japan; then the couples separate, and the women are forced into prostitution." Takeda reported that the Diocese of Tokyo is supporting a Filipina missionary to help women in crisis.
"We have unofficial lay groups that are becoming theologically involved. Many young people who do not belong to the parish are more interested in belonging to these volunteer groups," Takeda said. Yet the new volunteer groups have met with some resistance. "Many priests and vestry people are not happy to accept this kind of participation," he said.
"These kinds of activities are increasing, but not all church people feel positive about it," Takeda added. "I understand the feelings of people in the smaller dioceses and churches. They want to avoid controversy and keep people united, but I feel this new direction is good for our diocese," he said.
Takeda said that he believes economic prosperity in the 1980s led Japan into a conservative era and a tendency toward emphasizing the status quo -- a trend that he believes will increase during the 1990s. "I think this is a problem in Japan," he said. "Even the young people are getting rich and just want to enjoy life. So this new volunteer work provides people an opportunity for spiritual growth. A few are beginning to change their thinking," he added.
In addition to his support of the lay volunteer groups, Takeda is also a supporter of the movement to affirm the ministry of women as priests and bishops. "At the last General Convention, there was a proposal to enlarge the ministry of women," he reported. "We had a heated debate, but the president decided to provide more opportunities for women in ordained ministry, and in other ministries." In the end, a committee was appointed to study the matter and prepare a report. "The committee will do that, and we will vote probably at the next General Convention," Takeda said.
"Our church is traditional and conservative," Takeda added. "We have a very organized church with bishop, priest, parish, and women's groups." Although he affirmed his own support of the ordination of women, Takeda acknowledged that many still oppose it. "There are many nonsupporters, even among the bishops," he said.
Takeda has been sensitive to both sides of the controversy, and has provided ways for the diocese to consider new experiences. "I invited Bishop Barbara Harris to come here, and she stayed a week. We had a very good experience," he said. Harris spoke at several parishes and at St. Margaret's College as well as at a seminar at the Anglican seminary.
Recently, a group of women priests from the companion Diocese of Maryland visited parishes in the Diocese of Tokyo, and at the discretion of local priests, were invited to preach or concelebrate.
"Some of the bishops sent me a letter of protest about the visiting women priests," Takeda reported. "In this small church, the bishops tend to be more defensive. They don't like to raise problems, to deal with the issues, or to divide the congregation. I have sympathy for such bishops and clergy, so I decided to leave it up to the parish priests to decide how to work together," Takeda said.
Even in the face of a serious protest of an event in the secular realm, Takeda was careful to respect those who disagreed with him. Takeda was one of many Japanese leaders who opposed the enthronement of the new Emperor Heisei according to Shinto religious rites at taxpayer expense.
Takeda did not oppose the right of the imperial family to hold Shinto beliefs, but did speak out against funding the service from the national budget as a violation of the constitution.
Yet, Takeda suggested, the controversy may have also had some generational elements -- and those were displayed in the variety of opinions expressed in the church. "Younger priests generally preached about these subjects, but many lay people still respect the emperor -- especially older people," he said. "They [the older people] were educated before the war, and they don't like the clergy and bishops to be against the emperor system. Until quite recently, our Prayer Book had a prayer for the emperor," he noted.
Nevertheless, Takeda also challenged the deeper implications of the enthronement service. "The enthronement ceremony, even if the government officially denied it, is a ceremony for creating a god," he said.
Takeda has ventured into other areas that challenged the assumptions of the status quo. One such area is the problem of ethnic discrimination in Japan. "There is a general notion among some people that only Japanese live here," Takeda said. "Japanese people tend to think that the country is homogenous, but actually it is not. There are many minorities here, including Koreans, black people, and Okinawans." Takeda has joined several Christian leaders in opposing laws and customs that discriminate against other ethnic groups in Japan.
In the two years that Takeda has served as bishop, his ability to build coalitions and express the desire of the church for peace and justice has received much attention. It is a role that Takeda believes the whole Anglican Church in Japan can share with the rest of Japanese society.