The IOWC Global Team Meets Japan

An overflow crowd listens attentively as Rev. Moon opens the Day of Hope Festival at Tokyo’s Budokan Hall

Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan Hall, the “Japanese Madison Square Garden.” had people standing in the aisles to hear Reverend Sun Myung Moon speak on “The New Future of Humanity” on February 13. The 15,000 seat auditorium, Used mainly as a sports stadium, was jammed with 16,000 spectators, according to eyewitness reports. Rev. Moon’s sermon was delivered in fluent Japanese.

A Japanese newspaper the next day headlined “Fiery Day of Hope” in reference to the speech. Japanese members said that coverage of the event was better than expected from the leftist dominated Japanese press.

Rev. Moon spoke on the first night of the three-night “Day of Hope Festival” Feb. 13-16. Col. Pak, Rev. Moon’s special assistant, spoke on the other two nights, using the same successful techniques that he used in the Celebration of Life in the United States. As in the American Day of Hope Festival, all performances featured entertainment by the New Hope Singers International and the Korean Folk Ballet.

In addition, the newly-made movie of the 1974 Eight-City Tour and Madison Square Garden campaign was shown each night, projected on a screen built into the large backdrop of the stage. The Western Unification Church members who had participated in the blessing of 1800 couples in Korea on Feb. 8, were in the audience for the first two nights. They had spent three days, quartered in a suburban bowling alley, in Tokyo witnessing and handing out leaflets and tickets for the Budokan performances.

Meeting Japan

Annemarie Manke, a member of the first Global Team, describes their experiences in Tokyo:

It was still dark when we landed at Tokyo airport. We did not see any family as we entered the terminal until we were motioned to look out the window.

Then we saw them — a laughing, crying, straining body of young beaming faces waving thousands of tiny pennants at us. And in the background we saw the words: “Let’s realize the Kingdom of Heaven!”

From everywhere hands stretched to shake our hands and to pat our backs. They were so close that it was difficult for us to inch our way forward. All of us felt that it’s not possible-we don’t deserve so much love! They had been waiting for hours in the cold, even resisting the attempts of the airport police to dispel them until the police realized that they were not dealing with the usual leftist radicals. One Japanese

leader standing beside Rev. and Dr. Vincenz asked them: “Do you think that those are human tears or Heavenly tears?” It was an unaccustomed question stemming from the depth of the Oriental heart, our first indication of many such experiences to come.

The first days after our arrival were used to “find our way” as Rev. Vincenz puts it. We had to extend our spiritual antennae to find new direction for the team. It was necessary to be very flexible, ready to absorb new ways. We had to become more sensitive and truly expand our hearts and minds if we were to eventually become world people.

Western and Japanese One World Crusade members learn from each other as they work side by side on the streets of Tokyo

Our mission in Japan had an internal and an external aspect. The internal importance was to achieve deep unity with our Japanese family to build the basis for success on the external level-the “Day of Hope Festival.” Rev. Moon stressed this point very much when he spoke to us the morning after the second speech at Sugino-Kodo. With such a positive spirit we would be able to penetrate any difficulties in our course.

Grant Bracefield, our advance man in Japan, discovered some things that helped us to adjust quickly. He explained to us that in the Orient one is never just dealing with an individual but simultaneously with an ancient culture, tradition, and many ancestors. The Japanese, he said, are extremely careful to treat each individual with great respect for his age, background, and position. If they are uncertain of these facts, they are quite uncomfortable.

Once we had broken through the initial barriers, our IOWC and the Japanese family came very close; we could feel the happiness of God in our unity. Every morning in the van the Western members would learn Japanese with their partners. The tongue twisting efforts of some members quite often brought the whole van into fits of laughter. We shared many songs and had a great deal of joy in our street work together.

Success and opposition

The witnessing teams held rallies almost daily at different train stations. Their best rally was on the last Sunday before leaving Tokyo. About 300 members gathered, bearing flags from over 20 different nations, many posters with Rev. Moon’s picture on them, and a very large banner declaring the “Day of Hope Festival.” It was a beautiful Sunday and the people listened intently to Rev. Vincenz and Mr. Onishi of the Japanese One World Crusade. By the time our music group began, the people were so inspired that they almost started to dance! This kind of love is really confusing to the Communists — it’s just something

they would never do. At the time of our rally they were there, just across the street from us. But we were in such peace in the sunshine that the wave of their aggressiveness could not disturb us. We could sense that they were becoming increasingly frustrated by our unperturbed attitude. Finally m desperation they even resorted to physical violence. We have heard many reports of how they physically harass some of our Japanese members. Here in Japan we’ve come to realize the threat of Communism much more.

The three “Day of Hope Festivals” were a great success. In each case, the house was full. The people were greatly moved, so much so that after the speech sometimes up to 75 people would just pile into our vans to go to the nearest Church center for further discussion.

Public relations

The IOWC has been able to carry on public relations work, but the methods and purpose have changed greatly from the 8-city tour. We found in Japan Rev. Moon’s name has not been so widely proclaimed due to Japanese-Korean relations. However, we feel that the IOWC as a representative of so many nations has the power to transcend such difficulties.

The Japanese family has deeply established relationships, but always from a specialized direction, such as the International Federation for Victory Over Communism, the Professors’ World Academy, or the International Cultural Foundation, so those involved do not fully understand who Rev. Moon is. We feel that it is the mission of the IOWC to bring these friends to this realization. In most cases we found that these men were deeply intuitive and intelligent in their field. We have received many welcome letters and proclamations of support for the work of the IOWC and of its founder, Rev. Moon. Most agreed that Japan needs a spiritual revolution to resolve the crisis between Communism and crumbling democracy in order to bring about a new and better direction.

Special appearances

During our stay in Tokyo we were able to arrange four major events: a briefing for 200 professors, a Christian ministers’ conference, a dinner for the Korean residents in Japan, and a special performance at the Yokota Air Force base (U.S.). With the exception of the Yokota Air Force base, Rev. Vincenz was able to give a talk on the purpose of the IOWC and the first global tour. We entertained them with the Korean Folk Ballet and the New Hope Singers. As a special feature, we showed the film of Rev. Moon’s 8-city tour in America. Each occasion was successful, enabling us to break through walls that had been erected against our church and Father due to past distortions and the sensationalism built up by the press around the February 8th Blessing.

One thought underlined all of our experiences in Tokyo — that we must prepare ourselves for Korea. Therefore in all of our contacts in or out of the family we searched for God’s guidance: We wanted very much not to disappoint our family in Korea. We have heard that they are deeply expectant of our coming. The Day of Hope banquet at the Chosun Hotel was the formation stage, the Blessing was the growth stage, and the IOWC visit will be the perfection stage!

Other cities

Barbara Snell Masuyama, a member of the New Hope Singers, describes her experiences with the Japanese Day of Hope campaign:

“After Tokyo, we went north to Sendai. Sendai is the most Christian city of all Japan. It was not so easy for the team to witness there… but the people who came were excellent. Sendai is where the first Christian missionaries to Japan were martyred — 350 years ago on Feb. 18, and Feb. 18 was the night of our first performance in that city. We all felt the significance of that event-that Christ’s message was returning to that city on that particular day.

“After Sendai we went to Osaka, which is in the south of Japan. Osaka has the largest Korean population of any of the cities percentage-wise. Twenty percent of the population is Korean, 10 percent coming from North Korea. Therefore there is much Communist influence in that city. (Mun Se Kwang, assassin of Mrs. Chung Hee Park, came from Osaka — Ed.) Although the theatre was filled every night there seemed to be more of a spiritual battle.”

Barbara reported that, on March l, the singers performed for the Korean community in Tokyo for the celebration of the March 1919 Uprising for Korean Independence. “Every year at least 3,000 people come to a theater which is like Radio City Music Hall and hear speeches, see Korean movies and have live entertainment. Col. Pak said the people were moved that Westerners would celebrate their Independence Day.”

The 600-member Global Team, made up of European, Japanese, and American young missionaries accompanying the tour, has since been divided into three parts. The 200-member teams are much easier to coordinate and house, and their results are improving. One team is working in Kyoto, one in Nagoya, and one in Hiroshima, preparing for the “Day of Hope Festival” in those cities.

The teams have a goal of 3-3-1. That is, each member is expected to bring 3 people to the Festival, 3 to the lectures, and one for a workshop every day. In Kyoto, Diethmar Sommeregger had a near-perfect record. Others doing well are Jean Hughes Masson, Patrice Huard and Jasmine Nguyen. In the other two cities Mary White, Madeleine Penhard, Dominique Dorel, and Rodney Edwards are noteworthy. The successful ones say their success is a result of being “crazy to reach the goal.” Col. Pak is determined to double the Japanese membership through the work of the Global Team.

The first two teams will leave by ferry for Pusan, Korea, on March 26. The third team, the New Hope Singers, Korean Folk Ballet and staff will leave on the 28th. Their first performance in Korea will take place a few days after their arrival. After spending about 40 days in Korea, the team is expected to return to Japan.