DPJ's Ozawa calls Christianity 'self-righteous'

Wednesday 11th November, 06:17 AM JST

TOKYO —

Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa said Tuesday that Christianity is an ‘‘exclusive and self-righteous religion’’ after meeting with a Buddhist group leader. ‘‘European and U.S. societies with a historical background of Christianity are bogged down,’’ the ruling party’s No. 2 leader told reporters after meeting Yukei Matsunaga, president of the Japan Buddhist Federation, in Wakayama Prefecture.
On Islam, Ozawa said, ‘‘It is better than Christianity but it is also exclusive.’’ But Ozawa praised Buddhism, saying, ‘‘It teaches us a state of mind and way of life from the start about how human beings should be.’’ He added that the cause of the current social turmoil in Japan is that Japanese people are losing their original spiritual values.
   
‘‘Politicians cannot conduct politics if they are not prepared to work as both a human being and Japanese,’’ Ozawa said.
   
On the Liberal Democratic Party which became an opposition party following a general election in August, Ozawa said, ‘‘It is originally a typically Japanese party, but it lost that virtue. That is the biggest reason why it lost people’s support.’’