Tokyo, Japan - UPF-Japan held an interreligious program in Tokyo on Dec. 23, 2010, with the support of the “Association of Religious Ambassadors for Peace.” The program was held as the first half of the 40th Ambassadors for Peace Meeting, a bimonthly seminar series of UPF-Japan, with more than 50 participants.
The program was carried out solemnly by the representatives of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. They prayed according to their own tradition as they lit candles symbolizing each religion. This signified the genesis of the great light leading human beings to the world of peace and creating harmony among all religions.
At the end of the program, all participants recited the “Family Pledge,” which Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon, the Founder of UPF, called “the most significant of all prayers.”
After the interreligious program, Rev. Shinobu Ishimaru, Master of Theology and Director of International Affairs of the Inter-Religious Federation for World Peace, gave a Christmas message. He mentioned that Jesus was seeking for an Ambassador for Peace whom he could entrust his mission to and that St. Francis Xavier, the first Catholic missionary to Japan, was a pioneer to receive the baton of Jesus’ mission. He described Rev. Moon and the Ambassadors for Peace as receivers and transmitters of the light.
In the second half of the meeting, the participants enjoyed live performances and games. Several talented participants sang Christmas songs and performed on the shamisen (a traditional musical instrument whose name literally means "three-flavor strings"). The bingo game which has become the year-end event of the Ambassadors for Peace meetings excited the participants and was the highlight of the program.