religious freedom | inside out “For the public benefit, freedom of thought and conscience of public servants may be restricted.” – Japanese court ruling. Despite a constitution which guarantees freedom of thought, conscience and religion (see sidebar), the Japan Supreme Court is set to rule against public school teachers, some of them Christians, who were punished or removed from the posts because of refusing to sing the national anthem which praises the emperor as a god. Two lower courts have already ruled regarding the more than 200 teachers, and the Supreme Court has said it will hand down a ruling on February 27th, without even hearing the case. The believers in Japan face this directly, as do some missionaries, as the Ministry of Education (responsible for much of the religious persecution during the war days) has once again began forcing the singing of the anthem by school students. Persecution in Japan is not as severe as in many countries of the world, but it seems to be quickly heading in a bad direction. Please pray for those believers who must choose between their job and their Savior, and for the children of believers who are forced to participate in this and other Shinto-related activities in school. contributed by David & Evangeline Kindervater C&MA missionaries in Japan
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