As a part of the larger Cumberland Presbyterian community, Japan Presbytery humbly shares the following statement as an expression of its own commitment to the ministry of peacemaking. It is offered in the hope and prayer that our siblings in Christ, including those influenced by nationalism, will hear its witness and prayerfully consider its message.
On the Occasion of the 80th Anniversary of the End of the War
—A Commitment to the Ministry of Peacemaking—
November 24, 2025
98th Regular Presbyterial Meeting
Japan Presbytery, Cumberland Presbyterian Church
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
As we mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Fifteen Years’ War, including the Asia-Pacific War, we confess before God and one another our sins in turning toward violence, and we renew our commitment to the ministry of peacemaking.
In November 2022, we, the Presbytery of Japan, adopted a resolution declaring, “We oppose all acts that seek to impose one’s will through violence,” in response to the widespread reality of violence throughout the world. Since that time, however, conditions in many regions have not improved but have continued to deteriorate. In Palestine, in retaliation for attacks by the Islamic organization Hamas, Israel has undertaken military incursions, and the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry has determined that these actions constitute genocide against the Palestinian people. Even now, many continue to suffer unspeakable hardship as a result of violence.
In Japan, security-related legislation permitting the exercise of the right of collective self-defense was enacted by the National Diet in 2015. Since then, as many citizens feared, military expansion has continued, and the defense budget for fiscal year 2025 has reached 1.8 percent of GDP. The Self-Defense Forces, advancing a “Southwestern Shift,” are proceeding with the establishment of bases on Yonaguni Island, Miyako Island, Ishigaki Island, Amami Ōshima, Mage Island, and elsewhere, thereby heightening military tensions. Furthermore, in disregard of the clearly expressed will of the people of Okinawa, the government continues to press forward with the construction of a large-scale base at Henoko as the relocation site for Futenma Air Station, resulting in the destruction of the natural marine environment and imposing further hardship upon the people of Okinawa. Japan, the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings, has not even participated as an observer in the meetings of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons adopted by the United Nations.
We affirm the conviction that “when a nation expands its military under the name of self-defense, it threatens the right to peaceful existence of people in other countries, instills fear in their hearts, and undermines the possibility of mutual understanding”. In this context, the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize last year to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations is both a source of deep joy for us and a sign of hope for the world.
In recent years, diversity has both advanced and come under challenge. While legislation promoting respect for diversity—such as the Act on the Promotion of Measures to Realize a Society in Which the Pride of the Ainu People Is Respected and the Act on the Promotion of Public Understanding of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity—has been enacted, political claims that prioritize the interests of one’s own nation or particular groups have grown increasingly forceful. Such movements deny diversity and deepen conflict and division, both in Japan and throughout the world. We also confess that within our own church, tendencies to exclude those who hold differing views are gaining strength.
In light of these circumstances in both the world and Japan, we, grounded in the Confession of Faith of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, declare our calling as follows:
Christ seeks out the poor, the oppressed, the sick, and the helpless.
Therefore, we commit ourselves to stand with those whose dignity is denied by violence, by unjust laws, or by social structures, and to embody the way of Christ, who overcomes evil with good. (Confession of Faith 6.31)
God has entrusted to the Church the message and ministry of reconciliation.
Therefore, we commit ourselves to promote reconciliation, love, and justice among all persons, classes, races, and nations. (Confession of Faith 6.32)
God abhors war, civil strife, slavery, oppression, destruction of natural resources, and exploitation.
To choose such evils is to stand under judgment.
(Confession of Faith 7.06)
We move forward in prayer.
O Lord, we do not wish to walk the path that leads to death,
but the path that leads to life.
Grant us the grace to be counted among the peacemakers,
that we may be called your children.
Amen.
