Religious Awareness (Conscience Religieuse)
According to official statistics, the total number of Japanese who have faith in Shintoism, Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions reach 209 million while the Japanese population is about 128 million.
One of the reasons is that it is a common practice that a Buddhist faction where a family belongs counts a new born baby in the family automatically as its follower. Yet, it is true religious business flourishes in Japan, though most of newly formed religious bodies are a kind of Buddhist school or shinto party.
SECTION I: Ratio of Non Believers in God?
It is absurd to believe doubtful data which shows Japanese do not believe existence of God while Chinese believe.
http://graphs.net/200904/worldwide-statistics-of-non-believers-in-god.html
It is because the concept of God and implications of God are very different in Europe, America, Japan, and China.
Chinese people who have been educated along with Marxist and socialist philosophy have no interest in God at large. While Japanese living in almost perfectly free conditions for religion can admit any god.
Do not trust any Western survey involving Japan, since it neglects difference in culture and religion between East Asia and Europe/America or Japan/China and the Christian world.
Yet it is interesting that Americans are proud in that they believe existence of God more than the French and Germans. Americas believe existence of God even more than Italians.
It is as if it were a shame not to answer that God exists in America. Conversely, it must be a shame in France and Germany to simply answer that God exists.
Yet, how severe the Vietnam war was is still found in this data.
SECTION II: How Japanese Answer to Religious Questions
A more authentic survey shows a more insightful result about Japanese views on religious matters.
Q: Does God Exist?
Percentage of Answer by Japanese
"God Exists"..."Not Exist"...."Unknown"
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35.9%...........31.6%..........33.4%
Q: Does Heaven or Hell Exist?
Percentage of Answer by Japanese
"It Exists"..."Not Exist"...."Unknown"
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31.6%...........30.5%..........37.9%
http://www2.ttcn.ne.jp/honkawa/9520.html
"Unknown" is a humble way in answer to agree to a certain sensible or delicate question for a Japanese.
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In 2008, Japan has recorded 1,297 murder cases.
In 2008, the U.S. has 16,272 murders, which is 12.5 times larger though its population is just 2.3 times larger than Japan's.
Accordingly, Americans must ask for salvation of God six times more than Japanese. They will answer that they believe existence of God six times more outwardly and clearly than Japanese do.
Yet, Japanese commit a suicide 2.2 times more than Americans do. Japan is not an exception in terms of need for new religion.
[Just now I watched the launching of the last space shuttle mission via a cable TV channel in Japan. Though the clock stopped at T-30 seconds, it resumed and proceeded well. More than 130 times missions, but have they contributed to peace and prosperity of the world? The answer is negative. Yet, it must have been necessary to run the special shuttle project as a kind of symbol for unity of the American people. It was really an enterprise only the superpower could pursue. Now that the U.S. has the African American President, which the space shuttle project could not make possible, a new enterprise is needed for a symbol of America. And, it does not necessarily need such a tangible huge machine that uses a great amount of material energy. Just a humble successor of the African American President in the spirit of 2008 might be an answer...Atlantis must be now orbiting the earth...]
(Pearly shells...coming close to Japan in the summer...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWxWjIX8WlU&feature=related)
Joh 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
Joh 7:8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for my time is not yet full come.
Joh 7:9 When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee.