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Japan, it is said, is advancing rapidly on the road to great power status. On that assumption, people ask how Japan's domestic and foreign policies will be shaped by its new status. In attempting to respond to that question I will begin by challenging the assumption.The so-called "big power status" really means nothing to the ordinary Japanese, and no domestic issues have ever arisen because some Japanese demanded domestic or foreign policies appropriate to that status. So far, the notion of Japan's being a "big power" has been entirely foreign in origin, and the Japanese, gasping in the world's most polluted air and feeling sick with the world's worst food and water, can scarcely think of Japan as a big power. Under the circumstances it will be very difficult for the Japanese government to conduct its foreign policy in ways historically associated with the behavior of big powers.

In order to be truly the body of Christ in the world, the Church seeks the right to give free, unrestricted expression to its basic functions such as worship, proclamation, fellowship, service and teaching. In an avowedly Christian country it legitimately proceeds on the assumption that this right is given. Apartheid legislation and custom, however, place serious restrictions on these basic functions, as well as on the overall administration of the Church.Apart from specific restrictions contained in legislation, there is also the inhibiting factor of uncertainty engendered by the wideness and vagueness of many regulations and laws. A climate of opinion has developed, encouraged by the plethora of regulations and laws, which makes even legally permissible actions seem doubtful and possibly dangerous.