DPJ's Ozawa calls Christianity 'self-righteous'+

TOKYO, Nov. 10 Kyodo -
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.''
==Kyodo
2009-11-11 00:41:25