Japan's aging 'Hidden Christians' fear they may be their religion's last generation

There's nothing to worry about. I see so many Japanese enjoying Christmas and having weddings in churches.

It was amazing any survived, much less perpetuated their beliefs over those centuries. The shogun beheaded 37,000 people in that rural area alone after the Shimabara rebellion. Entire villages were wiped out in this act of genocide. The castle where the locals made their last stand was also their tomb. The shogun's troops left the bodies of entire families laying. They burned the castle and then actually broke up the stone walls to let them fall on top of the bodies. Breaking down stone castle walls is no small job, and it must have taken some time and effort. That shows how dedicated the shogun was to destroying every last remanent of the Christians.

And they still survived.

Shingo Village in Aomori prefecture is alive and well. Not many are aware of its existence. Interesting place with long ties to this article but worth mentioning.

Christianity won't die there. It hasn't under the now-gone Communist regimes and it won't die in Japan. It's legal there anyway.

Christians sure did suffer for their beliefs,

Taken out of the Japan context, Christian suffering has generally been at the hands of other Christians. Although an ugly thought for those who suffered in Kyushu, would it not have been worse if Christianity had been allowed to spread in Japan during the Edo era?

Christianity won't die there. It hasn't under the now-gone Communist regimes and it won't die in Japan. It's legal there anyway.

read again! this article is about the "Hidden Christians" group, NOT regular christianity in Japan, oh and yeah, those evil-babies-eaters-commies are not going to eat them anymore...