Cardinal Kikuchi: Catholic schools an evangelizing presence in Japan

The Catholic Church in Japan will gain new members this Easter, with scores of people set to receive baptism in Tokyo alone.

“In Tokyo alone this Easter, more than 100 individuals will be baptized,” Cardinal Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo told Crux Now.

There has been a Catholic presence in Japan for nearly five centuries, during which the faithful in the country have faced long stretches of frequently ruthless persecution.

Japan began opening to the wider world in the second half of the nineteenth century...