Japan looks to ancient traditions for strength

Cathy Lynn Grossman (USA Today)

Shinto is the pre-Buddhist religion of Japan that shaped Zen (Kisyu/Flickr).

When uncounted thousands have died in a disaster such as last week's earthquake and tsunami, where will the Japanese people find spiritual strength? Experts on Japanese culture say they'll find it in the critical, comforting rituals of religion. They will rely on centuries-old traditions of a distinctive Buddhist culture and the ancient Shinto beliefs of their earliest people.

Japan is 90 percent Buddhist or Shinto, or a combination of the two, with young urban Japanese more inclined to have drifted from religious attachments. Right now, most Japanese survivors are at the stage, like survivors of the 9/11 attacks, of posting photos of missing loved ones.

For families who have found their dead, wakes, funeral prayers and cremations may already be under way, said Duncan Williams, a survivor of the March 11 quake and a scholar of Japanese Buddhism at the University of California, Berkeley.

Seven days after the quake and tsunami, memorials will begin in whatever temples remain near the disaster zone. In Buddhist traditions, the seventh-day ritual begins 33 years of formal mourning ceremonies, Williams said. More>>

Japan radiation localized, no immediate threat: WHO
BEIJING (Reuters) - The World Health Organization believes the spread of radiation from a quake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan remains limited and appears to pose no immediate risk to health, the WHO's China representative said on Friday.

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"At this point, there is still no evidence that there's been significant radiation spread beyond the immediate zone of the reactors themselves," Michael O'Leary told a group of reporters.

"At the same time, we know that the situation is evolving and we need to monitor closely and see what happens over time. Things can obviously change, and have changed, over this last week."

The WHO, he said, "coordinates a network of experts on nuclear health issues which it draws on" for advice and would remain in close contact with Japan's government, the International Atomic Energy Agency and other groups. More>>

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