Japan has a constitutional separation of religion and state. But that does not mean religious organizations are prohibited from speaking about politics or supporting particular parties or candidates. The Japanese government has also taken the position that the separation principle does not, by itself, exclude religious organizations from political activity.
So if a religious organization publicly says, “We support this candidate,” that alone does not violate the separation of religion and state. Even encouraging members to support a particular candidate is not automatically prohibited simply because the organization is religious. But asking and pressuring are not the same thing. If an organization tries to find out how members actually voted, or effectively forces them to support a particular candidate against their own wishes, the issue begins to intrude on the individual’s freedom to make a political choice.
The other side of the separation principle concerns the state itself. Here too, the boundary is not as simple as saying that any contact between government and religion is unconstitutional. The concern becomes greater when a national or local government gives special treatment to a particular religion, or when its involvement becomes strong enough to cast doubt on the religious neutrality of public authority.
A political party supported by a religious organization may win seats through an ordinary election, and politicians from that party may take part in governing the country. That fact alone does not mean that the religious organization itself is exercising state power.
Even so, what is legally permitted and what people feel completely comfortable with are not always the same thing.
If a religious organization and a political party appear extremely close, and politicians seem to pay more attention to the wishes of that organization than to those of ordinary voters, some people will become wary or simply feel uneasy. Others may regard the same relationship as a normal form of organized political participation.
In Japan, “Can religious organizations participate in politics?” and “How close should religion and politics be before people become uncomfortable?” are not quite the same question. Something can be legally permitted and still leave people uneasy about where political influence is really coming from.
