I heard that there are overwhelmingly more Christians in the Philippines except for Mindanao island. On the other hand, in Japan the majority are Buddhists. However, the religious mind of many people is mild. They are conscious of their own religion only during rituals such as funerals.
There are devout Cristian also in Japan, but it is a few percent. About 400 years ago, many missionaries came to Japan and worked hard in their mission, but there were not much results. One of the reasons is that the regime banned Christianity at the time. They feared that European countries will colonize Japan using Christianity.
Other reason may be from the thought of animism from ancient times.Ancient Japanese people were thinking that God would stay in all things. It is called “god of eight million（八百万ã®ç¥žï¼šYaoyorozu no kami）.” Perhaps it may be close to the expression “nature is a complex god” sensuously.
For example, The monster named Godzilla was born as a symbol of antithesis against nuclear weapons development competition or counterattack by the great nature, during the Cold War. Thus, its name starts with “God.”
The animation movie “Princess Mononoke” is also based on a similar background. Or it may be symbolized by characters of Dragon Ball. Many characters called God appeared in that manga. Unfortunately, I do not know if it is the same in English version though.
Also, the Emperor was worshiped as a god, before the end of the Pacific War. By the way, the emperor’s ancestor is the main character in Japanese mythology.
However, Japanese like to enjoy events in other countries and religions with original arrange. For example, Christmas has penetrated as “a day when lovers should spend a romantic time”, rather than spending time with their families, or “as a day to eat cakes and chicken”. In addition, Halloween is positioned as “a day when adults and children disguise themselves and they go downtown.”
