Happy 55th Anniversary to FFWPU Japan!
From its roots in Korea, Unificationism spread to the world thanks to missionary activity. Fifty five years ago, on October 2, 1959, it spread to Japan beginning the Japanese Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU Japan). The anniversary of the Japanese Unification Church is affectionately marked by this day when the first Unificationist Sunday Service held by Sang-ik “Papa-san” Choi, known to Unificationists as Mr. Nishikawa. Mr. Nishikawa faced the rather hostile Japan-Korean relations at the time, and was arrested upon his arrival in Japan on June 1958. He was able to escape, and made his way to Tokyo where he worked in the mornings and sermonized on True Father’s teachings in the afternoons. He used the second floor of the shop at which he worked to hold service and educational talks initially for just a few people.
Unificationists in Japan celebrated the 55th anniversary of the church’s beginnings in Japan. Sun Jin Moon , Director General of FFWPU International, delivered the keynote address, “The Path to a Future World of Peace,” on behalf of True Mother. Following the Anniversary Rally, Sun Jin Moon said to elders Japanese Unificationists, with a deep appreciation for the hardships: “All of you have endured through everything, overcome all obstacles and brought victory. You have followed Heavenly Parent and True Parents as unwavering, filial sons and daughters.”
Today, the Japanese Unification congregation is made up of over one million people in Japan and 600,000 others worldwide. Together, Japanese Unificationists make up a significant part of the worldwide Unificationist community. Proportionate to their population, continual efforts made by Unificationists from Japan greatly impact the growth and culture of the Unification Church around the world. Recently, Japan held a Global Youth Festival which accomplished just this. In honor of this historic day, we would like to celebrate worldwide and say “Happy Anniversary!” to FFWPU in Japan!
Stane daniel
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I want to be a part of this year anniversary.
Thanks
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Frank Frivilous
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Is it possible that the original tally included spirit persons? Perhaps the Japanese church is using bookkeepers from CPL to compile their membership roles.
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John Reed
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How can the total membership in Japan be twice as many as the population in 2010? And 300,000 members world wide is quite a stretch.
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John Reed
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When I first made that comment the article had 300 million members listed in Japan which is twice the actual population. It has since been amended to one million members. Even at one million members of the Federation and a Japanese population of 127 million in 2010 that means that one person in 127 is a member of the Federation. I don’t see anything approaching that number when I look at the picture of the amount of people in the event. And the number of members world wide at 600,000 appears to be another fabrication. Please report accurately. Thank you.
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editorial
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The original number came from FFWPU Japan’s site (linked within the article above). After the first comment was received we consulted with Kodan for an accurate number of members in Japan. If you are unsatisfied with the report please contact Japan directly.
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