Letter of Repentance for WWII

August 1997

RE: Our Statement of Confession and Apology

To Whom it may concern,

We, Nippon Revival Association (NRA), founded May 1996, are a new Christian organization in Japan, which consist of more than five hundred churches, eight-hundred clergymen (including pastors, evangelists, and so forth), and about thirty thousand lay people. We confess our responsibility in World War II and apologize for it, as for per enclosure.

The day of Japan’s defeat (August 15) is coming around again. More than fifty years have already passed since World War II has ended. It surely may be true that we Japanese Christians have offered our personal apologies for our responsibility in the previous war as individuals. However, as a nation, or the whole church of Japan, it does not seem that we have ever made enough apologies for it.

We, Nippon Revival Association (NRA) therefore, make clear our responsibility in World War II as per enclosure, and wholeheartedly apologize for it, declaring August 15 and December 8 as “Days of Fasting and Repentance.”
It would be our considerable pleasure for our enclosed statement of Confession and Apology to be widely acknowledged through the related and concerned organizations and agencies in your country. We deeply appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Respectfully yours,

Minoru Okuyama
Chairperson of the Nippon Revival Association (NRA)