Japan's economic downturns make more Japanese visit shrines

Dec 30, 2009, 6:04 GMT

Tokyo - Japan's prolonged economic slumps may make a record number of Japanese visit shrines during New Year holidays.

About 100 million people are expected to flock to Shinto shrines throughout the country as a result of the prolonged recession, news reports said.

As Japan's recession deepened at the end of last year, more Japanese - who are not usually religious - seemed to turn to god.

The number of those who visited shrines during the first three days of the year increased by 1.21 million to a record of 99.39 million in 2009, the National Police Agency said. More worshippers are expected the upcoming New Year holidays.

Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in central Tokyo, usually receives the largest crowd, as 3.19 million visited the shrine during the first three days of 2009. A shrine official said they expected around the same number of people. It is dedicated to the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and his consort Empress Shoken.

Some Japanese get dressed up in kimono to go to a crowded shrine. For them, it is one of the few opportunities to wear kimono.

Japanese people, most of whom are not Christian, have a big celebration on Christmas Day. While many Japanese don't belong to a specific religious group, they usually pay their respects to a Shinto shrine during New Year holidays.

Japan's religious background is 'totally different' from other countries, Minoru Morita, an independent political analyst and author of many books, said.

'In Japan, that many different gods are enshrined that we have a term 'Yao Yorozu no Kami,' literally meaning eight million gods,' Morita said. 'While Christianity has strict moral codes, there are no such things in Japan. That's why people don't make an issue out of things like abortion and gay marriage.'