Japan

The Japanese criminal justice system is notorious for bad arrests, illegal detentions, coerced confessions through torture, denying legal representation during interrogations, and denying fundamental rights to detainees. Women and young girls have almost no protection against stalking, sexual harassment at the workplace/school, sexual assault, or domestic violence. The laws on the subject are obscure, and even with recent reforms, they are toothless tigers. 

Pray for God to raise His Children within the Japanese government’s high offices to develop significant improvements in laws protecting young girls and women from abusive behavior (The Bible, Isaiah 1:17). 

Pray for God’s supernatural intervention to trigger an extensive overhaul of the Japanese criminal justice system. Pray that the reforms will protect the innocent and punish the guilty (The Bible, Ecclesiastes 5:8). 

An archipelago of 6,852 islands, Japan has the world’s third-largest economy and is a major donor to world crises. Three-quarters of the nation’s population lives in big cities, together with one of the world’s most aging populations has resulted in specific needs in rural areas as young people all move to the cities in search of work. A strong traditional core has been flanked by a progressive younger generation valuing Western culture and ideas. Japan suffers from a high suicide rate, the leading cause of death for those under 30. Fewer than two percent are Christian; it is still one of the world’s most secular nations. Seventy percent of Japanese identify with no personal religion, although most adhere to Shinto and Buddhist customs. This year Japan was rocked by the assassination of former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, during a campaign speech. The election was won by the new prime minister, Fumio Kishida.