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Controversy rekindled over Shinto-linked imperial succession rite

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When people complain for the sake of complaining.

A Japanese approach to Shinto and its relationship with a religion =/= to how Westerners approach religion. So even acknowledging religious aspects still makes it vastly different than a Judeo-Christian type religion which is more likely where the spirit of the Constitution is focused.  

It's a tradition and a beautiful one at that. No need to spit in the face of something that has been done for somewhere around 1,600-2,000 years.

Points on and two are enough
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"but a damages suit against the government is pending at the Tokyo District Court."

Damages? What damages? Someone being offended is not damaging...

Money will be spent on a ceremony regardless. Might as well keep with a long held tradition. People need to stop being so sensitive.

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The Japanese do not have a tradition of separating religion from government. The West has hundreds of years of trying to separate Church from State, and still there is some cross-over. It should not be suprising if Japan hasn't separated the two within a handful of decades of the idea being introduced.

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And I'm not suggesting that Japan should separate religion and government. Different strokes for different folks.
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a key imperial succession ritual related to Shinto rekindled controversy over the separation of state and religion stipulated in the Constitution.

Be careful what you ask for Crown Prince Fumihito.

"SoftBank Sokuirei Seiden no gi Rakuten”

similar lawsuits were filed in December by 241 citizens

Can’t we all just get along?

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cybernetic tiger - you said ;

"......A Japanese approach to Shinto and its relationship with a religion =/= to how Westerners approach religion. So even acknowledging religious aspects still makes it vastly different than a Judeo-Christian type religion which is more likely where the spirit of the Constitution is focused...."

Not quite sure what you mean by all of this. Could you elaborate a little please?

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The government has acknowledged that the Daijosai has a religious aspect but decided to use state funds, maintaining that the Constitution stipulates imperial successions and thus it should be staged as a public event.

The government admits breaking the law and using public funds for religious purposes, not that this admission will result in the supreme court ever finding them guilty of such. The succession ceremony should be a non-religious procedure if the government wishes to spend our taxes on it. There is no reason why the ceremony should have anything to do with shinto at all.

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browny1 Today  06:38 pm JST

cybernetic tiger - you said ;

"......A Japanese approach to Shinto and its relationship with a religion =/= to how Westerners approach religion. So even acknowledging religious aspects still makes it vastly different than a Judeo-Christian type religion which is more likely where the spirit of the Constitution is focused...."

Not quite sure what you mean by all of this. Could you elaborate a little please?

I'm not quite sure what he/she means either. And it seems kind of Christophobic.

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Hi Browny and Jenni,

Here is my thought process on the topic. (Ultimately, my point isn't fact and more of an opinion. Also I was raised Catholic so I'm not a Christophobe. But I do love Shinto and read as much as I can about it).

Defined, religion is

the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.

-a particular system of faith and worship.

-a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.

So yes, taken at face value Shintoism can be called a religion, it has Kami and a system in which to practice the venerating the Kami.

However, to define Shinto solely as a religion is kind of disingenuous. Religion is geared more towards faith or belief in something but Shinto doesn't generally have the same modus operandi as how we approach religion in western cultures. I believe that Shinto is more of a cultural aspect of Japan than a religious one. A big difference between religions and Shinto is the absence of faith and the strong focus on ritual.. If you've ever watched a baseball game, a batter may tap his bat on the ground three times and pull on the sleeve of his jersey twice before every pitch. This is what the batter does because it what makes him feel like he'll give himself good luck; its his ritual but not a religious or faith based act. 

Shinto is more of a social and cultural aspect, this is why it's been able to coexist with Buddhism and share customs and ideals with Buddhism since the Asuka Period. My anecdotal experience and several polls show that most Japanese people don't consider themselves as religious or subscribe to Shintoism as a religion. But every January nearly everyone has a hatsumode and when they have children they have an omiyamairi and a shichi-go-san. The traditions of Shinto is involved in many aspect of Japanese culture from ethics, politics, family and social structures, and Sumo wrestling. In my humble opinion, Shinto is spiritual but it is not religious in the traditional definition.

TLDR: Shinto is a cultural and spiritual that has deep roots in Japanese customs and daily life. Because of the complexity to Japanese people's approach to religion and the view of Shinto as a religion, events like this being funded by tax dollars do not violate the Constitution.

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