Eclipse of the Mass in the Land of the Rising Sun

Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo announced the news on the vigil of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary: for a period of four weeks, all public celebrations are suspended.

Masses in convents and religious houses are allowed, provided that people who are not members of the community concerned do not participate in services, announced the prelate.

The measures taken in the Archdiocese of Tokyo came after the executive decided to extend the state of emergency in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, Saitama, Osaka, and Okinawa until September 12.

At the same time, a dozen prefectures - Miyagi, Toyama, Yamanashi, Gifu, Mie, Okayama, Hiroshima, Kagawa, Ehime, and Kagoshima – to the north, west, and south of Tokyo, have entered into a semi-state emergency, as reported by The Japan Times.

Measures that the public authorities justify due to the expansion of contaminations: in the week preceding the feast of the Assumption, an average of more than 16,600 cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were reported each day nationwide, an increase of 77% compared to early August.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on August 17 that the country was facing an “unprecedented” increase in contamination, due to the spread of the “delta” variant.

Although health experts deny any connection to the Olympics, statistics show infections tripled during the period of the games, and new strains of the coronavirus entered the archipelago.

Thus, the first case of a “lambda” variant was detected in the Olympic village within the Peruvian delegation. This news scares the Japanese, because currently in Peru, 80% of new cases of Covid-19 are due to this variant.

In a largely secularized country, where health and well-being have paradigm value, the prohibition of public ceremonies does not meet with much opposition: the faithful will have to be satisfied with the Mass broadcast every day live on the St. Mary's Cathedral channel in Tokyo.

These painful restrictions are an opportunity to pray for the Catholics in the Land of the Rising Sun, in particular those faithful of Tradition gathered around the new priory dedicated to Our Lady Morning Star, which the Society of Saint Pius X inaugurated in Saitama, in the northern suburbs of Tokyo, last September.

Masses can be continued there by the two priests present in Japan.