Toru Hashimoto

Toru Hashimoto is the mayor of Osaka and flexing what seems to be unusual influence in Japan. He has started his own national party in a wave of popularity. There is an unusually high percentage of Japanese that like him. It may be more of a reaction against the poor showing of the present political parties ruling Japan though. 

But, the concern is that he seems to be anti-Christian. The reason I say that is because Christians in Japan often refuse to sing the Japanese national anthem "Kimigayo" and bow to the flag. Some of the words in the song seem to declare the emperor to be a god, singing praises to him. The flag seems to point out that he comes from the sun-goddes, Amaterasu Oomikami.

And Hashimoto is requiring his city employees-teacers of Osaka to sing the national anthem and bow to the flag. The Japan Times Online

The danger is that, "even when he (Hashimoto) flexed his ultranationalist muscle for the first time, creating legislation that would require Osaka teachers to stand and sing whenever the Kimigayo was played, the public barely blinked."

He has also said to his city employees, "You have no fundamental human rights."Japan Today So the issue goes well beyond the rights of Christians....

If there really is an anti-Christian trend, the church in Japan needs to be ready. And the church in around the world needs to pray. Japan in the past, during the Tokugawa era and World War 2, severely persecuted Christians. It could happen again.

Here are some articles concerning this subject. Old guard see despot in Hashimoto , How did we end up here, in 'Hashimotopia,' 2022?